y      LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


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Class 


THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

DURING  THE 

CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION 


BY 

OLYNTHUS  B.  CLARK,  A.  M. 

PROFFESSOR  OF  HISTORY  IN  DRAKE  UNIVERSITY 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 
FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

IN  THE 

FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE  OF 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


THE  CLIO  PRESS 

IOWA  CITY,  IOWA 

1911 


PREFACE 

This  work  is  intended  to  be  a  contribution  to  the 
history  of  politics  in  Iowa,  during  the  period  from 
1860  to  1873,  and  more  especially,  through  the  State 
as  a  unit,  to  throw  light  upon  the  National  situation. 
It  aims  to  show  the  attitude  of  the  State  toward  the 
National  issues  and  the  part  played  therein.  It  traces 
the  changes  in  political  opinion  and  the  attendant 
party  reorganizations.  Thus  is  followed  the  solidar- 
ity of  the  Republican  party,  the  shifting  policy  of  the 
Democracy,  the  question  of  a  " Union"  party  with 
the  attendant  third-party,  fusion  schemes,  to  the  cul- 
mination of  the  Reconstruction  issues  in  the  Liberal 
Movement.  Since  the  particular  field  is  unworked,  it 
has  seemed  best  to  follow,  in  the  main,  the  chrono- 
logical method  of  treatment. 

The  study  is  the  outgrowth  of  investigation  into  the 
politics  of  the  northern  States,  during  the  period  of 
the  Civil  War  and  Reconstruction,  being  carried  on 
by  Professor  William  A.  Dunning  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity. In  the  preparation  of  this  work,  the  author 
is  indebted  to  Professor  Dunning,  not  only  for  his 
inspiration  in  its  writing,  but  for  his  careful  reading 
and  revision  of  the  manuscript.  Special  mention  is 
due  Mr.  Fred  K.  Deming,  sometime  student  of  the 
writer,  for  his  aid  rendered  in  the  gathering  of  data. 
The  writer  himself  is  responsible  for  the  many  short- 
comings of  the  work. 

O.  B.  C. 
APRIL  22,  1911. 


232975 


CHAPTER    I. 


CHAPTER   II. 


CHAPTER  III. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CHAPTER   V. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION:  THE  ANTE-BELLUM  POLIT- 
ICAL TRANSFORMATION  OP  IOWA  — 1854  TO 
1859.  1 

Political  parties  and  their  contest  for  the 
control  of  the  State  —  Study  of  elections  — 
Leading  men  —  The  new  Constitution  — 
Break-up  of  the  Democracy  —  The  political 
situation. 
POLITICAL  PARTIES  IN  1860.  14 

Iowa  in  the  National  Conventions  —  The 
State  nominating  conventions  —  The  four 
party  tickets  —  The  campaign  —  The  Wide- 
awakes —  The  election  —  Study  of  the  vote. 
POST-ELECTION  ISSUES.  54 

Attitude  toward  secession  —  Formation  of 
opinion  —  Republicans  generally  united 
against  —  Democracy  divided  —  Attitude  to- 
ward compromise  —  Republican  position 
one  of  opposition  —  Democrats  generally 
favor  compromise. 
IOWA'S  DEFENSE  OF  THE  UNION.  74 

The  first  " Union"  movements  —  Demo- 
crats hold  ' '  Union ' '  meetings  and  favor  con- 
ciliation —  The  Republicans  inaugurate  the 
policy  of  coercion  —  Non-partisan  response 
to  call  to  arms  —  The  extra  session  of  the 
legislature,  1861  —  Politics  —  Iowa  on  a  war 
footing. 
POLITICAL  READJUSTMENT  OF  1861.  105 

The  question  of  party  reorganization  — 
The  Democracy  —  Republicans  —  The  party 
conventions  —  A  "People's"  party  —  Ques- 
tion of  a  "Union"  party  —  Second  series  of 
State  conventions  —  Attitude  of  Republicans 
—  The  fusion  movement  —  Election. 


CHAPTER     VI.     POLITICAL  SOLIDARITY  OF  1862.  134 

Preliminaries  of  the  party  conventions  — 
The  Ninth  General  Assembly  —  Indictments 
for  treason  —  Political  situation  — The  State 
conventions  of  1862  —  No  third  party  —  Is- 
sues of  the  canvass  —  Question  of  the  soldier 
vote  —  Attitude  toward  emancipation  — 
Election. 

CHAPTER  VII.     THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY,  THE  ' '  PARTY  OF  THE 
UNION".  . .        172 

Position   of  the   Republicans   in   1863  — 
Maintenance    of    their    organization  —  The 
''Party  of  the  Union" —  State  convention  — 
Course  of  the  Democracy  —  Party  divided 
but     maintains     organization  —  Democrats 
again  swap   candidates  —  The  campaign  — 
The  soldier  vote  —  Election  of  1863. 


VI 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION:    THE  ANTE-BELLUM  POLIT- 
ICAL TEANSFOEMATION  OF  IOWA 
1854-1859 

The  political  transformation  of  Iowa  during  the  decade 
preceding  the  Civil  War  is  one  of  the  land-marks  of  the 
State's  history.  By  1858  the  change  from  the  old  Demo- 
cratic regime  to  the  dominance  of  the  Republican  party 
was  complete.  Although  slight  changes  appear  before, 
this  transformation  practically  began  in  1854  by  the  elec- 
tion of  a  Whig  Governor,  James  W.  Grimes,  and  ended 
in  1859  in  the  choice  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  over  the 
Democratic  veteran,  Augustus  C.  Dodge.  Within  these 
five  years  the  Republican  party  supplanted  the  compro- 
mising Whig  party  and  became  the  champion  of  the  is- 
sues against  the  now  time-serving  Democracy.  Before 
the  end  of  the  decade  the  Republicans  came  to  control  the 
administrative  offices  of  the  State,  both  branches  of  the 
legislature,  the  judicial  offices,  and  the  vast  complex  of 
local  functionaries.  They  then  retired  the  Democratic 
members  of  Iowa  from  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
the  United  States  Senate. 

But  while  the  Republican  supremacy  was  real  and  the 
political  transformation  of  the  State  was  complete,  yet 
the  Republican  majorities  were  not  beyond  the  danger 
mark.  There  was  always  present  the  possibility  of  an 
overthrow  in  any  active  and  determined  campaign  which 
the  Democrats  might  inaugurate  —  a  fact  not  always 
realized  or  at  least  acknowledged  by  partisans.  In  fact 


2  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

the  Kepublican  majorities  —  often  pluralities  —  were  not 
large  and  overwhelming  until  in  the  election  of  1860.  But 
before  that,  the  Democrats,  notwithstanding  the  enervat- 
ing discords  within  their  party,  were  gradually  regaining 
their  lost  ground,  as  is  seen  in  the  election  of  1859,  espe- 
cially for  members  of  the  legislature.  To  comprehend  the 
situation  more  fully  it  is  necessary  to  make  at  least  a 
hasty  examination  of  the  votes  during  the  period. 

The  votes  for  State  officers  show,  from  the  first  inroads 
upon  Democratic  supremacy,  a  fairly  consistent,  though 
small,  gain.  The  Eepublican  increase,  however,  in  1855 
and  in  1856  was  marked  by  an  unusually  large  majority, 
after  which  the  Democrats  held  their  opponents  to  a  de- 
clining majority.  In  the  State  election  of  1854  Mr. 
Grimes,  a  Whig,  won  the  governorship  over  Mr.  Curtis 
Bates,  Democratic  candidate,  by  a  majority  of  2,120  votes 
in  a  total  of  54,504^  The  Democrats,  it  should  be  noted, 
saved  their  position  partially  by  electing  three  of  their 
candidates  for  State  office.  In  the  off-year  State  election 
of  1855  the  combining  anti-Nebraska  forces  carried  the 
State  by  the  large  average  majority  of  more  than  4,400.2 
Again  in  18563  the  Republicans  pushed  their  majority  to 
7,467  over  the  Democrats,  Elijah  Sells  defeating  George 
Snyder  for  Secretary  of  State.  This  was  the  highest 
point  reached  before  1860. 

The  year  1857  is  memorable  in  Iowa  for  political  cam- 

1  Election  Archives  for  1854. 

2  The  vote  of  1855  was  as  follows:-— 

Commissioner  of  Des  Moines  River  Improvement:  William  McKay, 
24,743;  O.  D.  Tisdale,  20,001;  J.  H.  Bonney,  19.  Register  of  Des  Moines 
River  Improvement:  J.  C.  Lockwood,  24,243;  William  F.  Dewey,  20,323; 
Anson  Hart,  61.  Register  of  State  Land  Office:  Anson  Hart,  24,487;  B. 
H.  Samuels,  20,046. 

s  Vote  for  Secretary  of  State  in  1856 :  Republican,  40,387 ;  Democratic, 
32,920. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  3 

paigns  and  elections.  Three  times  did  the  people  rally 
at  the  polls.  The  first  time  was  in  the  spring,  when  the 
Democrats  triumphantly  elected  their  candidate,  Maturin 
L.  Fisher,  to  the  office  of  Superintendent  of  Public  In- 
struction. In  August  the  new  State  Constitution  was 
ratified ;  and  in  October  legislative  and  executive  officials 
were  elected,  the  Republicans  winning  in  both  contests. 
In  the  gubernatorial  election  Ralph  P.  Lowe  won  over 
Ben  M.  Samuels  by  a  plurality  of  2,410  in  a  total  vote  of 
75,592 ;  while  a  third-party  candidate  appeared  in  the  per- 
son of  the  Know-Nothing  nominee,  J.  F.  Henry,  who 
polled  1006  votes.  The  Republican  majority  was  thus 
only  1,404.4  The  next  year,  however,  the  Republicans 
won  back  their  losses  in  the  reelection  of  Mr.  Sells  over 
Samuel  Douglass  by  a  majority  of  3,548.5  This  it  will  be 
seen  was  a  larger  majority  than  the  Republicans  secured 
in  the  congressional  elections,  due  probably  to  both  the 
non-political  character  of  the  office  and  the  efficiency  and 
popularity  of  Mr.  Sells  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  tensity 
of  the  issues  involved  in  the  congressional  elections  on 
the  other.  But  the  Republican  majority  was  again  re- 
duced in  the  fight  for  the  Governorship  in  1859,  Samuel 
J.  Kirkwood's  majority  over  the  vote  for  Augustus  C. 
Dodge  being  only  2,964  in  a  total  of  110,048  votes.6 

The  gradual  Republicanization  of  the  State  is  clearly 
seen  in  the  congressional  elections.  The  first  real  invasion 
of  the  lower  house  of  Congress  occurred  in  the  Second 
District  in  1852,  when  the  Whig  candidate,  John  P.  Cook, 
was  elected  over  Lincoln  Clark,  the  Democratic  nominee. 

4  Vote  for  Governor  in  1857:  Republican,  38,498;  Democratic,  36,088; 
American,  1,006. 

s  Vote  for  Secretary  of  State  in  1858 :  Republican,  49,135 ;  Democratic, 
45,587. 

e  Vote  for  Governor :  Republican,  56,506 ;  Democratic,  53,542. 


4  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Then  in  18547  the  Iowa  Whigs  shelved  Mr.  Cook  on  ac- 
count of  his  compromising  pro-slavery  record  and  nom- 
inated James  Thorington,  an  anti-slavery  advocate,  and 
elected  him  over  the  Democratic  candidate,  ex-Governor 
Stephen  Hempstead,  by  1562  votes.  This  was  more  than 
twice  the  majority  of  Mr.  Cook  over  Mr.  Clark  in  1852, 
and  shows  the  growing  anti-slavery  temper  of  Iowa.  The 
First  District  remained  Democratic,  and  Augustus  Hall 
of  Keosuaqua  was  easily  elected.  In  the  election  of  18568 
both  of  the  Democratic  candidates  were  defeated.  In 
the  First  District  Samuel  E.  Curtis  won  over  Augustus 
Hall  by  955  votes,  while  in  the  Second  District  the  Know- 
Nothing  fusion  candidate,  Timothy  Davis,  defeated  the 
veteran  ex-Congressman,  Shepherd  Leffler,  by  the  large 
majority  of  7,017  votes.  Finally,  in  the  election  of  1858& 
the  Eepublican  triumph  was  complete.  Mr.  Curtis  was 
reflected  in  the  First  District  over  Henry  H.  Trimble  by 
a  majority  of  1,800  votes.  In  the  Second  District  William 
Vandever  was  elected  over  William  E.  Leffingwell  by 
2,739,  a  much  reduced  majority  as  compared  to  that  of 
1856.  In  fact  Curtis 's  majority  was  also  relatively  small- 
er than  that  of  1856.  Thus  the  decade  closed  with  Demo- 
cratic encouragement. 

The  old  regime  of  course  was  comparatively  safe  as 
long  as  it  controlled  the  General  Assembly;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Whig  triumph  in  the  State  was  nowhere 
more  important  than  in  the  capturing  of  the  State  legis- 
lature. The  contest  for  the  two  seats  in  the  United  States 
Senate  was  first  to  be  fought  out  in  the  counties  compos- 

7  Vote  in  the  First  District:  Whig,  11,042;  Democratic,  11,219.  Vote 
in  the  Second  District:  Whig  11,435;  Democratic,  9,873. 

s  Vote  in  the  First  District:  Eepubliean,  18,065;  Democratic,  17,110.  Vote 
in  the  Second  District :  Eepublican,  22,885 ;  Democratic,  15,868. 

9  Vote  in  the  First  District:  Republican,  23,529;  Democratic,  22,729. 
Vote  in  the  Second  District:  Republican,  25,503;  Democratic,  22,764. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  5 

ing  the  various  legislative  districts.  In  the  historic  tran- 
sitional year  of  1854  the  two  parties  divided  honors  in 
the  control  of  the  legislature,  the  Whigs  securing  the 
House  with  a  majority  of  ten,  while  the  Democrats  re- 
tained the  Senate  with  the  slender  majority  of  one.  On 
joint  ballot,  however,  the  Whigs  had  a  majority  of  nine, 
and  in  this,  the  Fifth  General  Assembly,  a  United  States 
Senator  was  to  be  chosen.  This  meant  the  defeat  of  Sen- 
ator Dodge  for  reelection,  and  in  his  stead  the  choice  of 
James  Harlan,  the  hated  abolition  sympathizer.  In  the 
election  Mr.  Harlan  received  the  solid  majority  vote.  It 
was  at  this  time  that  the  defiant  Democratic  Senate  at- 
tempted the  desperate  strategy  of  bolting  the  joint  con- 
vention of  the  legislature  in  order  to  defeat  Mr.  Harlan.10 
The  anti-Nebraska  men  had  just  come  together  in  the  new 
Republican  party,  and  in  the  election  of  members  to  the 
Sixth  General  Assembly,11  that  party  gained  control  of 
both  houses  by  almost  two  to  one.  The  Seventh  General 
Assembly  was  the  first  under  the  new  Constitution, 
adopted  in  1857,  and  also  the  first  at  Des  Moines,  the 
new  capital,  convening  in  January,  1858.  The  Eepub- 
lican  majorities  were  decreased  in  both  branches  of 
the  legislature,12  a  thing  highly  gratifying  to  the  Dem- 
ocrats, yet  it  availed  them  naught  so  far  as  the  election  of 
a  United  States  Senator  was  concerned.  This  legislature 
was  to  fill  the  place  to  be  vacated  by  Senator  George  W. 
Jones,  whom  his  own  party  now  repudiated  by  putting  up 

10  See  Dr.   Louis  Pelzer  's  article  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and 
Politics,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  212-214.    See  also  Senate  Journal,  1854-1855,  p.  116; 
and  House  Journal,  1854-1855,  pp.   185-188.' 

11  Sixth  General  Assembly,  1856-1857: — Senate:  Republicans,  23;  Demo- 
crats, 12;   Americans,  1.     House:   Republicans,  44;   Democrats,  22;    Amer- 
icans or  Democrats,  6. 

12  Seventh    General    Assembly,    1857-1858: — Senate:     Republicans,    21; 
Democrats,  15.     House:    Republicans,  42;  Democrats,  30. 


6  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Ben  M.  Samuels  for  the  succession.  But  the  Eepublicans 
united  on  and  elected  Mr.  Grimes,  the  retiring  Governor. 
Grimes  had  served  as  Governor  through  the  formative 
period  of  the  Republican  party,  and  on  January  12,  1858, 
delivered  his  last  message  to  the  legislature,  a  message 
ringing  with  the  Republican  slogans  of  the  day,  namely : 
opposition  to  the  Dred  Scott  Decision  and  the  Lecompton 
Constitution.  On  January  26th  the  houses  met  in  joint 
convention  and  Mr.  Grimes  was  elected  by  the  full  Re- 
publican vote  of  64,  to  41 13  for  Mr.  Samuels,  the  minority 
candidate. 

This  legislature  is  important  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
upon  it  devolved  the  inauguration  of  the  new  governmen- 
tal system,  both  in  law-making  and  in  denning  political 
issues  under  the  new  Constitution.  For  this  reason  and 
in  view  of  the  approaching  crisis  of  1860  considerable  im- 
portance attaches  to  the  personnel  of  this  body.  Some  of 
the  old  leaders  are  now  retiring  and  many  new  men  ap- 
pear who  are  to  direct  the  policies  in  that  crisis.  Among 
the  Democrats  of  former  assemblies,  who  now  dropped 
out,  were  Joshua  Tracy,  James  M.  Love,  John  L.  Corse, 
Ben  M.  Samuels,  Nathan  Udell,  James  D.  Test,  P.  Gad 
Bryan,  Isaac  M.  Preston  and  Maturin  L.  Fisher.  Some 
of  these  were  promoted  —  Fisher  and  Love  —  while  oth- 
ers later  bolted  the  party  and  joined  the  Republicans. 
Still  others  remained  faithful,  to  run  on  the  successive 
tickets  as  sacrifices  to  the  sacred  cause  of  Democracy. 
There  were  some  strong,  able  Democrats  left  —  for  in- 
stance, in  the  Senate :  William  F.  Coolbaugh,  Henry  H. 
Trimble,  William  G.  Stewart  and  W.  H.  M.  Pusey,  be- 
sides the  ultras,  Jairus  E.  Neal,  as  well  as  Aaron  Brown 
and  Joseph  Mann.  Among  Republicans  or  former  Whigs 
who  passed  from  the  legislative  halls  to  other  govern- 

is  Senate  Journal,  1858,  pp.  119,  120. 


CIVIL   WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  7 

mental  posts  were  Reuben  Noble,  John  E.  Needham, 
William  H.  Holmes,  Charles  C.  Nourse  and  Samuel  B. 
McCall.  But  the  Senate  of  the  Seventh  General  Assembly 
contained  an  unusual  array  of  talent  in  such  men  as 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  M.  L.  McPherson,  William  Lough- 
ridge,  Alvin  Saunders,  John  W.  Rankin,  Jonathan  W. 
Cattell,  William  G.  Thompson,  Josiah  B.  Grinnell,  Wil- 
liam F.  Davis  and  0.  P.  Sharradan. 

In  the  House  was  the  strong  Democratic  delegation 
from  Dubuque,  Lincoln  Clark,  Theophilus  Crawford  and 
Dennis  A.  Mahoney ;  from  Keokuk  came  William  W.  Bel- 
knap  ;  and  then  there  were  Martin  V.  B.  Bennett,  Philip 
B.  Bradley,  Justus  Clark  and  G.  W.  Gray.  The  Repub- 
lican side  was  also  strengthened  by  new  blood.  There  ap- 
peared Cyrus  C.  Carpenter,  William  H.  Seevers,  Benja- 
min F.  Gue,  Samuel  E.  Rankin,  George  W.  McCrary,  M. 
M.  Trumbull,  Thomas  Drummond,  and  E.  E.  Cooley. 
The  Speaker  of  this  session  was  Stephen  B.  Shelledy ;  and 
the  clerks  were  B.  F.  Jones  and  William  P.  Hepburn,  the 
latter  just  entering  upon  his  long  and  successful  political 
career.  There  were  the  hold-overs  of  previous  sessions, 
among  them  "Honest  John"  Edwards  and  Ed.  Wright. 
Mr.  Wright  had  been  the  Speaker  of  the  Sixth  General 
Assembly  and  is  spoken  of  by  a  close  observer,  who"  then 
the  first  time  visited  the  State  legislature,  as  "the  best 
informed  man  in  the  House  on  parliamentary  law",  and 
indeed  "his  calmness  was  needed  to  straighten  out  the 
kinks".14 

According  to  the  Constitution  the  Senators  were  elect- 
ed for  four  and  the  Representatives  for  two  years;  and 
thus  in  the  next  election  (1859)  members  of  the  lower 
house  only  were  chosen,  except  to  fill  vacancies  in  the 
Senate,  of  which  there  were  fifteen.  The  election  result- 

i*  Charles  Aldrich  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series),  Vol.  II,  1895,  p.  205. 


8  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

ed  in  a  relative  Republican  loss  in  both  houses.15  Addi- 
tional strength  came  to  the  Senate  in  the  election  of 
James  F.  Wilson,  Paris  P.  Henderson,  and  John  Scott 
among  the  Republicans;  while  the  Democratic  side  was 
strengthened  by  Cyrus  Bussey  and  John  F.  Buncombe, 
and  Nathan  Udell  was  returned.  In  the  House  among 
Republican  leaders  appeared  Leander  C.  Noble,  Rush 
Clark,  William  H.  F.  Gurley,  Samuel  Merrill,  and  Henry 
C.  Caldwell;  among  the  Democrats  were  Thomas  W. 
Claggett,  James  E.  Williamson,  Justus  Clark,  Harvey 
Dunlavey,  John  D.  Jennings  and  Francis  A.  Gniffke. 
John  Edwards  was  elected  Speaker,  and  William  Thomp- 
son chief  clerk,  with  Charles  Aldrich,  first  assistant. 

From  this  study  of  the  legislature  of  the  State,  it 
must  appear  that  while  the  Republicans  maintained  the 
control,  their  position  was  not  by  any  means  secure.  In 
many  of  the  counties  the  elections  were  quite  close  and  all 
in  all  the  minority  party  had  much  to  expect  in  a  subse- 
quent election.  The  next  election  for  assemblymen,  how- 
ever, was  not  to  be  until  1861.  By  that  time  the  whole 
situation  was  changed  and  for  years  to  come  the  Demo- 
crats were  doomed  to  be  a  hopeless  minority  in  the  State 
legislature. 

An  examination  now  of  the  Presidential  votes  of  1852 
and  1856  will  further  illustrate  the  decline  of  the  Demo- 
cratic control.  Here  the  movement  was  continuous,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  there  was  no  Presidential  election  between 
1856  and  1860.  In  1852  the  popular  vote16  for  Pierce  was 
17,762,  while  General  Scott,  the  Whig  candidate,  polled 
only  1,902  less.  Besides,  there  was  the  Free  Soil  vote  of 

is  Eighth  General  Assembly,  1859-1860: — Senate:  Republicans,  23; 
Democrats,  20.  House:  Republicans,  50;  Democrats,  36. 

is  Presidential  vote  in  1852:  Democratic,  17,762;  Whig,  15,856;  Free 
Soil,  1,606. 


CIVIL   WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  9 

1,606,  thus  leaving  an  actual  majority  to  the  Democrats 
of  but  296.  Four  years  later  the  Eepublicans  carried  the 
State  by  a  plurality  of  7,886  votes.17  But  the  third-party 
Fillmore  vote  of  9,444  made  the  Eepublican  vote  1,558 
less  than  the  combined  opposition.  The  Republican  vote 
was  less  than  the  Whig  vote  of  1852,  though  of  course  the 
Fillmore  vote  came  entirely  from  the  old  Whig  element; 
while  on  the  other  hand  the  Free  Soil  vote  of  that  year 
went  to  the  Eepublicans.  In  studying  the  vote  of  1860, 
we  shall  have  occasion  to  compare  the  votes  of  1856  and 
1860,  to  see  the  relative  increase  of  the  Eepublican  and 
Democratic  parties. 

The  increasing  Eepublican  strength  in  the  Presiden- 
tial elections  is  best  seen  in  the  change  of  the  counties 
from  the  Democratic  to  the  Eepublican  column.  In  1852 
the  Democrats  carried  74  counties,  29  of  them  by  majori- 
ties and  45  by  pluralities,  while  the  Whigs  had  but  14 
counties,  though  11  were  by  majorities  and  only  3  by 
pluralities.  One  county  returned  a  tie  vote,  and  in  an- 
other the  Free-Soilers  succeeded  in  getting  a  plurality.18 
In  1856  there  was  a  general  shaking  up  and  old  lines 
were  obliterated.  Although  the  Eepublican  vote,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  relatively  less  than  the  Whig  vote  of 
1852,  yet  it  was  so  distributed  as  greatly  to  increase  the 
Eepublican  strength  as  compared  with  that  of  the  Whigs. 
The  74  Democratic  counties  had  dropped  to  24,  while  the 
14  Whig  counties  had  risen  to  55  Eepublican  counties. 
The  Democrats  had  won  majorities  in  but  12  of  their  24 
counties,  while  the  Eepublicans  had  majorities  in  44  coun- 
ties out  of  their  55.  The  Fillmore  vote  was  distributed 

17  Presidential  vote  in  1856:  Eepublican,  44,127;  Democratic,  36,241; 
American,  9,444.  Eepublican  plurality,  7,886;  combined  Democratic  and 
American  majority,  1,558. 

is  Clarke  County:    Hale,  37;  Pierce,  32;  Scott,  20. 


10  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

in  68  counties,  and  while  there  were  some  real  centers  - 
Appanoose,  Davis,  Des  Moines,  Henry,  Lee,  Muscatine, 
Scott  and  Washington  counties  —  yet  the  party  was  suc- 
cessful in  none. 

Again  let  us  look  at  the  votes  on  the  new  Constitution. 
The  old  Constitution  was  a  Democratic  hulk.  There 
could  be  neither  complete  political  reorganization  of  the 
State  nor  party  security  in  the  administration  of  its  af- 
fairs, without  a  new  instrument  of  government.  Hence 
the  people  were  called  upon  to  express  themselves  on  the 
question  of  convening  a  Constitutional  Convention  to 
frame  a  new  Constitution.  The  vote  was  taken  August 
4,  1856,  and  resulted  in  the  one-sided  vote  of  32,790  for, 
and  14,162  against  the  proposition.  The  next  year  a  new 
Constitution  was  framed  and,  upon  being  submitted  to 
the  people,  wa£  ratified  by  the  close  vote  of  40,311  to 
38,681  —  a  majority  of  only  1,630.  This  was  practically 
a  strict  party  vote,  and  stands  in  about  the  same  ratio 
as  the  later  vote  in  the  regular  State  election  of  the  year 
1857.  Evidently  in  the  election  on  calling  the  convention, 
the  Democrats  stayed  at  home ;  but  when  the  new  Consti- 
tution was  before  them,  it  proved  so  revolutionary,  that 
they  made  such  a  fight  upon  it  as  almost  to  defeat  it. 

It  is  important  here  to  understand  the  full  significance 
of  the  political  transformation  of  the  State,  and  to  note 
what  changes  were  wrought  in  consequence  of  this  re- 
formation and  organization  of  political  parties.  The  Re- 
publican party  with  its  principles  and  organization, 
gradually  revolutionized  the  State ;  it  undermined  the  old 
party  in  power  and  set  up  safeguards  for  its  own  per- 
petuation. Consequently  with  the  establishment  of  the 
new  Constitution  there  follows  the  resulting  Eepublican 
legislation:  the  new  Code;  the  State  Banking  Law;  the 
modification  of  the  two  congressional  districts  —  the 


CIVIL   WAR  AND  EECONSTEVCTION  PEEIOD  H 

eastern  end  of  the  line  being  pushed  south  to  reduce  the 
Democratic  majority  in  the  First  District;  a  complete 
judicial  re-districting  of  the  State  by  several  acts  from 
1853  to  1858,  increasing  the  number  of  districts  from  five 
to  eleven ;  and  the  establishment  of  new  counties  and  the 
changing  of  boundaries,  so  as  to  insure  a  Republican  leg- 
islature. In  fact  Iowa,  during  the  period  of  transforma- 
tion, was  completely  gerrymandered. 

Another  feature  which  throws  some  light  upon  the 
politics  of  this  period  is  the  comparative  party  loyalty. 
Of  course  there  was  discernible  most  of  the  time  a 
third-party  element,  which  locally  took  somewhat  the 
nature  of  an  independent  vote.  This  was  chiefly  from 
three  sources:  the  extreme  anti-slavery  element,  the  "old 
guard"  remnant  of  the  Whig  party,  and  the  liberal  or 
dissatisfied  Democrats.  The  first  and  third  were  finally 
absorbed  by  the  Republican  party,  some  of  them  by  1860, 
but  most  of  them  not  until  the  high- tide  of  the  war.  The 
old  guard  of  Whiggism  went  on  the  rock  and  scattered  to 
the  four  winds  —  cropping  out  occasionally  all  through 
the  decade  of  the  sixties,  now  with  one,  now  with  another 
political  group,  but  never  a  to-be-counted-upon  political 
asset  of  any  party.  The  third  party  was  a  factor,  though 
negative,  in  the  elections  of  1852,  1856,  and  1857,  but 
there  was  very  little  or  none  of  the  "scattering"  vote. 
Party  loyalty,  then,  was  a  marked  feature  of  the  period, 
increasing  with  the  more  clearly  defining  issues  between 
the  parties  on  the  all-absorbing  slavery  question ;  but  we 
see  practically  nothing  of  the  independent  vote  as  known 
to-day. 

Thus  in  place  of  an  organic  independent  vote  we  see 
the  disintegration  of  the  Democratic  party  and  the  con- 
sequent augmentation  and  compacting  of  the  Republican 
party  by  dissatisfied  factions  or  individuals  bolting  the 


12  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

ticket  or  the  party  of  the  former  and  joining  the  latter. 
In  1857,  for  example,  the  "Fort  Madison  clique m9  led  by 
William  F.  Coolbaugh  threw  consternation  into  the  Demo- 
cratic councils,  by  bolting  the  ticket.  Later  most  of  these 
men  joined  the  Eepublican  party.  In  Dubuque  a  bitter 
feud  existed  for  some  time,  between  the  Montague  faction, 
led  by  Senator  George  W.  Jones,  and  the  Capulets,  led  by 
Judge  Thomas  S.  Wilson.  This  fight  hastened  the  dis- 
integration of  the  Democratic  party  rather  by  discredit- 
ing it  before  the  public  than  by  these  factionists  them- 
selves uniting  with  the  Eepublicans.  Instances  of  lead- 
ing men  deserting  the  Deemocratic  camp  are  common ;  for 
example,  Mr.  Enoch  W.  Eastman  left  the  party  early  in 
1859,  issuing  a  manifesto20  renouncing  his  allegiance  to  it 
because  it  had  departed  from  the  ancient  principles  of 
Democracy.  We  shall  hear  of  Eastman  again.  Another 
phase  of  the  party 's  predicament  is  seen  in  the  desertion,, 
on  the  part  of  the  rank  and  file,  of  the  old  political  leaders. 
The  body  of  Democrats  were  becoming  alarmed  over 
the  desperate  straits  to  which  the  party  had  been  reduced, 
and  they  advocated  a  change  of  attitude  toward  the  issues 
fast  consuming  them.  Thus  in  the  State  convention  of 
1858  they  sought  to  redeem  their  party  by  passing  a  reso- 
lution repudiating  their  action  of  the  year  previous  in 
supporting  the  Lecompton  Constitution.  This  was  a  new 
phase  of  the  situation ;  and  now  appears  for  the  first  time 
an  "old  guard "  and  in  a  minority  role  at  that,  which, 
under  the  leadership  of  Stillson  Hutchins,  George  W. 
Jones,  Stephen  Hempstead  and  Ver  Planck  Van  Ant- 
werp, bolted  the  convention.  This  bolt,  it  is  needless  to 

i»  William  F.  Coolbaugh,  Edward  Johnston,  H.  W.  Starr,  and  General 
Morgan. 

20  For  Mr.  Eastman's  letter,  see  The  Iowa  Citizen  for  January  19,  1859, 
referred  to  by  Doctor  Pelzer  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and  Politics, 
Vol.  VII,  p.  203. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  KECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  13 

say,  was  the  work  of  the  stand-pat,  pro-slavery  element, 
the  Administration  wing  of  the  party,  a  mere  rump  of  the 
Iowa  Democracy,  the  forerunner  of  the  Breckinridge 
faction  of  1860  and  the  Secession  sympathizers  of  the 
Civil  War  period.  Just  as  the  Democratic  party  was 
slipping  from  power  and  going  to  pieces,  the  Eepublican 
party  was  consolidating  and  fortifying  itself  on  every 
political  hill-top  and  at  every  cross-road. 

The  one  man  responsible  for  all  this  disrupting  of 
Democratic  harmony  in  the  State  was  none  other  than 
the  man  over  whom  the  National  Democracy  became  dis- 
rupted —  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  At  least  it  was  the  issues 
which  he  championed,  that  the  rank  and  file  of  Iowa  Dem- 
ocrats had  come  to  look  upon  as  their  creed.  This  creed 
was  definitely  formulated  by  Douglas  in  1858,  and  Iowa 
Democrats  followed  with  keen  interest  the  Lincoln- 
Douglas  debates,21  seeking  doctrines  that  would  save  the 
wreckage  of  their  party.  Iowa  Democrats  were  more  con- 
cerned about  the  national  situation  than  about  that  in  the 
State.  They  regarded  Douglas  and  his  policies  as  a 
greater  issue  than  any  local  matter,  and  so  they  followed 
him  in  this  memorable  contest,  even  aiding  him  in  the 
Illinois  canvass.  They  rejoiced  in  his  defeat  of  Lincoln 
for  the  United  States  Senate,  holding  enthusiastic  meet- 
ings, and  passing  resolutions  of  confidence  in  him  and 
faith  in  his  principles.  This  all  presaged  the  course  of 
the  Iowa  Democrats  in  the  coming  campaign  of  1860. 
They  were  now  thoroughly  committed  to  the  Northern 
wing  of  the  party  and  out  of  fellowship  with  the  National 
pro-slavery  leadership. 

21  For  good  accounts  of  Iowa's  interest  in  these  debates  see  Dr.  Pelzer's 
History  of  Political  Parties  in  Iowa  from  1857  to  1860  in  The  Iowa 
Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol.  VII,  p.  201;  also  Professor  Harriott's 
Iowa  and  the  First  Nomination  of  Lincoln  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series) 
Vol.  VIII,  pp.  452-66. 


CHAPTER  II 
POLITICAL  PAETIES  IN  1860 

IOWA  IN   THE   NATIONAL   CONVENTIONS 

In  Iowa  the  national  campaign  of  1860  opened  in  the 
autumn  of  1859.  The  issues  were  already  clearly  defined 
on  the  part  of  both  the  leading  parties,  and  also  by  the 
third  party  factions  soon  to  take  a  hand.  It  was  quite 
clear  from  the  first  that  the  vast  majority  of  the  Demo- 
crats were  to  stand  on  Douglas 's  platform,  and  naturally 
—  since  1858  —  they  thought  of  no  one  but  Douglas  as 
their  candidate  for  the  presidency.22  The  Democratic 
newspapers  generally  ran  up  the  Douglas  standard. 

The  Republicans  were  united  on  principles,  but  unlike 
the  Democrats,  they  were  at  sea  on  the  question  of  a 
Presidential  candidate.  For  fear  of  imperiling  the  larger 
issues  and  interests,  they  quite  generally  refrained  from 
expressing  their  preferences.  The  fact  is  that  Iowa  Re- 
publicans were  much  divided  on  the  question  of  a  candi- 
date ;  they  counselled  harmony  and  persisted  in  regarding 
with  equal  favor  any  of  the  great  names  already  in  the 
public  mind.23 

The  Republican  National  Committee24  met  in  New  York 
City  on  December  21,  1859,  to  fix  the  time  and  place  for 
the  meeting  of  the  next  National  Convention.  They  final- 
ly chose  Chicago  and  fixed  upon  May  16, 1860,  as  the  time. 
This  gave  much  satisfaction  to  the  Republicans  of  Iowa 

22  See  Pelzer  's  article  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol. 
VII,  p.  216. 

23  See  Harriott's  article  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series),  Ante. 

24  Iowa's  member  of  the  committee  was  Andrew  J.  Stevens. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PEBIOD  15 

in  common  with  all  westerners.  Two  weeks  before  this 
the  Iowa  City  Republican  had  given  out  its  choice  of 
place,  naming  in  the  order  of  preference,  Chicago,  St. 
Louis,  and  Indianapolis.25  Consequently  when  the  Na- 
tional Committee  named  Chicago  the  Republican  said: 
"We  think  it  eminently  fit  that  a  city  which  has  main- 
tained her  Eepublicanism  amidst  such  opposition,  beard- 
ing Douglas  in  his  den,  richly  deserves  this  flattering  tes- 
timonial".28 

For  some  time  before  this,  the  Republican  State  Cen- 
tral Committee  had  had  the  question  of  calling  a  State 
Convention  for  the  selection  of  delegates  to  the  National 
Convention  under  consideration.  After  a  general  ex- 
pression of  public  sentiment  on  the  question,  through  the 
press  and  otherwise,  they  issued  a  call27  on  December  5, 
1859,  for  the  State  Convention  to  convene  in  Des  Moines, 
on  Wednesday,  the  18th  of  January,  1860.  The  time  and 
place  decided  upon  were  regarded  as  the  "most  conveni- 
ent to  procure  the  general  representation  of  counties 
during  the  session  of  the  legislature".  They  at  the 
same  time  decided  another  question  on  which  there  was 
divided  opinion,  resolving  to  hold  two  State  Conventions, 
one  for  choosing  delegates  to  the  National  Convention 
and  a  second  to  name  a  State  ticket,  since  the  unity  of  the 
party  would  be  more  reasonably  assured  after  the  Na- 
tional platform  should  have  been  agreed  upon  and  the 
ticket  named.  The  call  was  signed  by  John  A.  Kasson, 
Chairman,  together  with  the  eleven  district  members  of 
the  committee,28  and  the  representation  agreed  upon  was 

25  loica  City  Republican,  December     7,  1859. 
26/owa  City  Republican,  December  28,  1859. 

27  Iowa  City  Republican,  December  14,  1859. 

28  Republican  State  Central  Committee :    John  A.  Kasson,  Chairman ;   H. 
M.  Hoxie,  Des  Moines,  Secretary;   Rufus  L.  B.  Clark,  Mount  Pleasant;  C. 


16  TEE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

one  delegate  for  every  two  hundred  votes  cast  for  Gov- 
ernor Kirkwood  at  the  last  election.  The  counties  were 
strongly  urged  to  hold  conventions  to  select  their  delega- 
tions. 

On  January  18th,  the  first  State  Convention  met  at  Des 
Moines  in  Sherman  Hall.  W.  W.  Hamilton  of  Dubuque 
was  made  permanent  chairman.  Naturally  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  members  of  the  legislature  were  delegates.  The 
convention  was  large  and  enthusiastic,  good  will  prevail- 
ing throughout.  The  key-note  of  the  convention  was  har- 
mony and  this  was  emphasized  in  the  desire  shown  to  give 
everybody  some  place.  There  were  six  secretaries  and 
eleven  vice-presidents  chosen,  while  still  others  were  put 
on  committees  or  on  the  unusually  large  delegation  to  the 
Chicago  Convention.  There  was  little  speech-making, 
although  while  the  Committee  on  Credentials  was  out, 
John  Johns,  a  somewhat  eccentric  Webster  County 
pioneer  preacher,  brought  down  the  house  repeatedly, 
with  a  speech  which  the  editors  of  the  Republican  called 
"the  quaintest  remarks  ever  heard ",29 

The  only  question  eliciting  any  discussion  was  that  of 
the  number  of  delegates  to  the  National  Convention.  The 
State  was  entitled  to  eight  votes  in  the  Convention  and 
some  wished  to  send  that  number  of  delegates;  others 
wanted  five  delegates-at-large  with  two  from  each  Ju- 
dicial District.  It  was  finally  decided  to  elect  thirty 
"delegates  and  advisory  members, "  besides  a  chairman 
of  the  delegation.  William  Penn  Clarke  was  elected 
chairman  on  the  first  ballot,  and  the  choice  was  spoken  of 

E.  Stone,  Council  Bluffs;  William  Loughridge,  Oskaloosa;  Thomas  Drum- 
mond,  Vinton;  A.  B.  F.  Hildreth,  Charles  City;  J.  M.  Newcomb,  Bloom- 
field:  William  Bigelow,  Sioux  City;  James  Thorington,  Davenport;  H.  A. 
Weltze,  Dubuque;  L.  L.  Pease,  Tort  Dodge. 

29  Iowa  City  Republican,  January  25,   1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  17 

as  "a  well  deserved  compliment/'30  Four  delegates-at- 
large  were  then  elected,  resulting  in  the  choice  of  Leander 
C.  Noble  of  Fayette  County,  John  A.  Kasson  of  Polk, 
Henry  O'Connor  of  Muscatine,  and  James  F.  Wilson  of 
Jefferson.  On  motion  of  Dr.  Bowen  six  additional  dele- 
gates-at-large  were  chosen.  They  were :  John  W.  Bank- 
in  of  Lee  County,  editor  Coker  F.  Clarkson  of  Grundy, 
Rev.  Henry  P.  Scholte  of  Marion,  Senator  M.  L.  McPher- 
son  of  Madison,  Lieutenant  Governor  Nicholas  J.  Rusch 
of  Dubuque,  and  John  Johns,  the  Webster  County  pio- 
neer. Besides  these  two  delegates  were  elected  from  each 
of  the  eleven  Judicial  Districts,31  making  in  all  thirty- 
three32  delegates  from  the  State,  to  cast  her  eight  votes 
in  the  Convention.  Thus  the  several  political  divisions, 
the  various  classes  and  nationalities  were  carefully  re- 
membered and  harmony  guaranteed.  The  Irish  vote  was 

so  The  proceedings  of  the  Convention  are  printed  in  the  Iowa  City  Ee- 
publican,  January  25,  1860. 

31  District  Delegates  to  Chicago  Convention  of  1860  : 

First  District: — Alvin  Saunders   (Henry),  J.  C.  Walker  (Lee). 

Second  District: — H.  Clay  Caldwell  (Van  Buren),  M.  Baker  (Wapello). 

Third  District: — Ben  Eector  (Fremont),  George  A.  Hawley  (Decatur). 

Fourth  District: — A.  W.  Hubbard  (Woodbury),  J.  E,  Blackford  (Kos- 
suth). 

Fifth  District:— Thomas  Seeley   (Guthrie),  C.  C.  Nourse  (Polk). 

Sixth  District: — William  M.  Stone  (Marion),  J.  B.  Grinnell  (Powesheik). 

Seventh  District: — William  A.  Warren  (Jackson),  John  W.  Thompson 
(Scott). 

Eighth  District: — John  Shane  (Benton),  William  Smyth  (Linn). 

Ninth  District: — William  B.  Allison  (Dubuque),  A.  F.  Brown  (Black- 
hawk). 

Tenth  District: — Keuben  Noble   (Clayton),  E.  G.  Bowdoin  (Floyd). 

Eleventh  District: — William  P.  Hepburn  (Marshall),  J.  F.  Brown 
(Hardin). 

Only  three  of  these  failed  to  attend :  H.  Clay  Caldwell,  A.  W.  Hubbard, 
and  J.  E.  Blackford.  Their  places  were  taken  by  Joseph  Caldwell,  Herbert 
M.  Hoxie,  and  Jacob  Butler. 

32  The  Proceedings  of  the  Chicago   Convention  gives   Iowa  '&   delegation 
as  32,  though  it  prints  the  33  names.     Certain  it  is  that  her  delegation 
numbered  33  in  place  of  32.     Proceedings,  pp.  Ill,  174. 


18  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

represented  by  Mr.  O  'Connor,  the  Germans  in  the  Demo- 
cratic stronghold  of  Dubuque  by  Lieutenant  Governor 
Busch,  and  the  Dutch  by  the  Eev.  Mr.  Scholte.  The 
farmers,  merchants,  and  capitalists,  the  newspapers  and 
various  professions  were  represented  on  the  delegation. 
These  men  were  not  all  in  the  first  rank  as  political  lead- 
ers ;  on  the  contrary,  barring  a  half  dozen,  they  were  or- 
dinary citizens,  but  had  they  been  otherwise  they  would 
not  have  been  representative. 

The  delegation  went  to  Chicago  uninstructed.  Indeed, 
the  question  of  a  candidate  was  not  even  broached  in  the 
State  Convention  and  little  was  said  in  private  on  that 
delicate  question.  The  individual  preferences  of  some  of 
the  delegates  were  not  known  and  their  selection  could  not 
have  had  that  matter  in  view.  It  was  State  harmony  that 
Iowa  was  seeking.  The  Iowa  Eepublicans  were  deter- 
mined (it  seems,  were  almost  hysterical  on  the  question) 
not  to  allow  the  matter  of  a  nominee  to  disturb  their 
equilibrium  and  jeopardize  the  politics  of  the  State. 

At  Chicago  the  Iowa  delegation  was  at  home  in  the 
Tremont  House,  where  headquarters  had  been  engaged 
by  Mr.  Clarke  in  March.33  The  delegation  as  a  whole, 
except  for  its  size,  was  inconspicuous  in  the  Convention.34 
The  large  delegation,  though  at  home  quite  politic,  was  in 
Chicago  rather  a  joke  than  a  source  of  strength.  Some  of 
the  members  individually,  however,  exercised  consider- 

M  Iowa  City  Eepublican,  March  28,  1860. 

34  James  F.  Wilson  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Permanent 
Organization,  Coker  F.  Clarkson  of  the  Committee  on  Credentials,  Reuben 
Noble  of  the  Committee  on  Business,  the  Rev.  Henry  P.  Scholte  one  of  the 
vice-presidents,  and  William  M.  Stone  one  of  the  Secretaries  (later  William 
B.  Allison  served  as  a  Secretary),  while  John  A.  Kasson  was  on  the  Com- 
mittee on  Eesolutions.  Some  of  Kasson 's  associates  enjoying  a  national 
reputation  were :  George  F.  Talbot,  Amos  Tuck,  George  S.  Boutwell,  Francis 
P.  Blair,  Gustave  Koerner,  F.  P.  Tracy,  and  Horace  Greeley. —  See  Pro- 
ceedings. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  19 

able  influence  —  Mr.  Kasson,  on  the  Committee  on  Keso- 
lutions,  had  a  large  part  in  drafting  the  platform.  The 
Iowa  vote35  was  scattering  on  every  ballot,  and  the  nom- 
inee, Mr.  Lincoln,  did  not  receive  the  solid  vote  of  the 
delegation.  But  the  nomination  was  at  once  accepted  by 
all  and  the  delegates  returned  home  to  champion  both  the 
platform  and  the  ticket.  All  Iowa  ratified  the  result. 

The  Democrats  soon  followed  with  their  State  Conven- 
tion, convening  at  Des  Moines  on  February  22,  1860. 
This  date  was  selected  out  of  patriotic  sentiments,  ac- 
cording to  the  action  of  the  State  Convention  of  1859. 
The  call36  was  issued  by  D.  A.  Mahoney  as  State  Chair- 
man, and  the  meeting  was  for  the  purpose  of  choosing 
delegates  to  the  Democratic  National  Convention  which 
was  to  meet  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  on  April  21, 
1860.  The  National  Committee  had  chosen  this  place  at 
a  meeting  in  Washington,37  in  the  very  bosom  of  the  Na- 
tional (Administration)  Democracy,  on  December  7, 1859. 
It  was  the  first  time  that  the  National  Convention  had 
gone  so  far  south,  and  under  the  trying  circumstances  the 
Douglas  men  were  not  a  little  nervous  and  apprehensive 
of  the  result. 

The  State  Convention,  unlike  the  Eepublican,  was  nei- 
ther large  nor  enthusiastic,  though  fairly  harmonious. 
The  delegation  of  eight  was  a  strong  one  and  solid  for 
Douglas.38-  The  delegates  were  Augustus  C.  Dodge,  Ben 

35  Ballots  of  the  Iowa  Delegation  at  the  Chicago  Convention  of  1860 : 

First  ballot: — Seward  2,  Lincoln  2,  Cameron  1,  Bates  1,  McLean  1, 
Chase  1. 

Second  'ballot: — Lincoln  5,  Seward  2,  Chase  ^,  McLean  %. 

Third  ballot: — Lincoln  5%,  Seward  2,  Chase  %. —  Proceedings,  pp.  151, 
152,  153. 

^Dubuque  Herald,  December  21,  1859. 

37  Iowa  City  Republican,  December  14,  1859. 

ss  Iowa  City  Republican,  February  29,  1860. 


20  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

M.  Samuels,  Dan  0.  Finch,  Nathaniel  B.  Baker,  an  emi- 
grant from  New  Hampshire  where  he  had  been  Governor, 
W.  H.  M.  Pusey,  Thomas  W.  Claggett,  I.  M.  Bosler,  and 
Edward  H.  Thayer  of  the  Muscatine  Daily  Courier. 

While  the  Convention  did  not  draw  up  a  series  of  reso- 
lutions at  this  time,  yet  an  attempt  was  made  to  get  an 
expression  upon  one  question.  Henry  C.  Eippey  of  Win- 
terset  introduced  a  resolution  providing  for  the  granting 
of  homesteads  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  to  actual 
settlers.  Mr.  Eippey  explained  that  the  Democrats  in 
Congress  had  had  a  chance  to  favor  such  a  measure  but 
instead  had  defeated  it,  and  he  wanted  Iowa  Democrats 
to  go  on  record  as  repudiating  their  action,  by  favoring 
such  a  law.  The  Convention  rejected  the  resolution,  not 
because  they  opposed  it,  but  because  they  did  not  at  this 
time  wish  to  bring  up  questions  of  platform.  The  regular 
State  Convention  later  incorporated  the  resolution  in  the 
platform. 

The  action  of  the  Charleston  Convention  is  well  known. 
Iowa  played  a  conspicuous  part  there,  as  well  as  at 
the  adjourned  meeting  at  Baltimore,  and  at  both  places 
the  entire  delegation  stood  solidly  for  Douglas. 

THE   STATE   NOMINATING  CONVENTIONS 

Long  before  the  Chicago  Convention  assembled,  the  call 
was  issued  (March  28th)  for  the  Eepublican  State  Con- 
vention to  meet  at  Iowa  City  on  May  23rd.  This  was  for 
the  purpose  of  naming  a  State  ticket  and  adopting  a  plat- 
form. The  call39  however  went  further  and  said,  "It  is 
also  called  for  the  purpose  of  ratifying  the  nominee  and 
platform  of  the  National  Eepublican  Convention  to  be 
held  at  Chicago  on  the  16th  of  May."  This  was  indeed 
party  loyalty,  announcing  a  meeting  to  ratify  a  nominee 

as  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  March  31,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  21 

yet  to  be  chosen  and  a  platform  yet  to  be  drawn  up,  and 
it  further  illustrates  the  confidence  of  Iowa  Republicans 
in  the  national  party  as  well  as  their  determination  to 
maintain  party  unity  and  harmony. 

The  Convention  assembled  with  561  delegates  repre- 
senting fifty-eight  counties.  They  met  in  what  had  for- 
merly been  known  as  Metropolitan  Hall,  but  was  now 
named  the  Republican  Wigwam,  so  imbued  were  the  dele- 
gates with  the  spirit  of  the  great  Chicago  gathering.  The 
"Wigwam"  was  crowded  almost  to  suffocation,  but  the 
utmost  harmony  and  good  will  prevailed.  The  conven- 
tion however  was  in  the  hands  of  Ed.  Wright,  the  popular 
Linn  County  legislator,  whose  name  and  ability  were 
enough  to  keep  any  body  of  men  in  order. 

Candidates  for  State  offices,  we  are  told,  were  nomin- 
ated with  a  cordial  unanimity  most  singular,  which  Mr. 
Mahin  of  the  Muscatine  Journal  regarded  as  a  "sure 
guarantee  of  the  ticket. '  '40  It  is  true  that  two  of  the  four 
candidates  were  nominated  by  acclamation  —  Jonathan 
W.  Cattell,  for  Auditor,  and  John  W.  Jones,  for  Treasur- 
er—  but  there  were  sharp  contests  for  the  other  two. 
Charles  C.  Nourse  was  re-nominated  for  Attorney-Gen- 
eral, though  it  required  four  ballots  to  do  it,  there  being 
at  first  six  names  presented,  with  John  A.  Kasson  and 
William  G.  Thompson  the  closest  competitors.  Elijah 
Sells  was  for  the  third  time  nominated  for  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  State,  which  was  clearly  a  departure  from 
an  established  custom,  and  concerning  which  there  was 
some  complaint.  Mr.  Sells,  however,  was  a  most  efficient 
officer,  and  besides,  he  was  a  sort  of  gubernatorial  aspir- 
ant, and  it  was  good  politics  to  hold  to  some  way-station 
toward  that  goal.  The  other  candidates  for  the  nomina- 
tion were  S.  J.  W.  Tabor  of  Buchanan  County,  G.  A. 

40  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  May  26,  1860. 


22  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Hawley  of  Decatur,  and  M.  L.  McPherson  of  Madison, 
but  on  the  first  ballot  Mr.  Sells  polled  332%  votes,  and 
after  Mr.  McPherson 's  withdrawal  the  nomination  was 
declared  unanimous  by  acclamation. 

Four  Presidential  electors  were  chosen,  two  at  large 
and  one  from  each  of  the  Congressional  Districts.  An 
informal  ballot  for  the  first  was  taken  and  before  the 
votes  were  counted  Col.  Fitz  Henry  Warren  of  Des 
Moines  County  was  made  one  of  them  by  acclamation. 
On  the  next  ballot  J.  A.  Chapline  of  Dubuque  was  chosen 
as  the  other.  The  electors  representing  the  districts 
were  M.  L.  McPherson  for  the  First  and  Charles  Pomeroy 
for  the  Second.  These  four  men  had  been  delegates  to 
the  Chicago  Convention ;  while  there  were  some  members 
of  the  Convention  who  had  not  yet  been  given  any  honors 
at  the  hands  of  the  party.  This  fact  may  at  least  have 
prompted  the  motion  of  William  Penn  Clarke  to  name 
four  additional  electors-at-large,  whose  duty  it  should  be 
to  assist  the  regular  electors  in  canvassing  the  State. 
This  was  adopted  and  E.  N.  Bates,  William  B.  Fairfield, 
J.  M.  Newcomb,  and  Benjamin  Rector  were  chosen.  Of 
these,  the  last  named  had  been  at  Chicago.  Thus  Iowa 
again  devised  a  plan  to  overcome  the  handicap  of  her 
youth. 

The  Convention  made  short  work  of  framing  a  State 
platform.  A  committee,41  representing  Judicial  Districts 
and  containing  some  good  men,  most  of  whom  had  not 
been  honored  with  other  favors,  was  appointed  on  plat- 
form. At  the  evening  session  the  committee  reported 

4i  The  Committee  on  Platform  by  Districts:  (1)  Samuel  F.  Miller  of  Lee, 
(2)  E.  T.  Edgerton  of  Lucas,  (3)  B.  Rector  of  Fremont,  (4)  A.  Mitler 
of  Humboldt,  (5)  Thomas  Seeley  of  Guthrie,  (6)  H.  Schofield  of  Wash- 
ington, (7)  H.  J.  Campbell  of  Museatine,  (8)  Bush  Clark  of  Johnson,  (9) 
D.  W.  Cooley  of  Dubuque,  (10)  C.  A.  Newcomb  of  Fayette,  (11)  Charles 
Pomeroy  of  Boone. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  23 

their  labors  to  the  Convention.  The  report,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  "call",  was  the  ratification  of  the  work  of 
the  National  Convention.  It  was  the  shortest  platform 
up  to  that  time  put  out  by  the  Eepublicans  of  Iowa,  con- 
taining but  four  resolutions.42  They  disposed  of  the  Na- 
tional issues  in  the  campaign  by  declaring  that  they  were 
prepared  to  advocate  and  defend  the  Chicago  platform; 
that  they  endorsed  the  nomination  of  Lincoln  and  Hamlin, 
and  pledged  to  them  the  undivided  support  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  of  the  State.  In  State  affairs  they  favored  a 
policy  of  rigid  economy  and  would  hold  the  State  officers 
to  strict  account.  Finally,  expressing  confidence  in  their 
State  ticket,  they  commended  it  to  the  support  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  Convention  then  took  steps  to  organize  for  the 
campaign  and  adjourned. 

Thus  by  June  1st,  before  the  summer  was  begun  and 
long  before  the  heat  of  both  the  summer  and  the  cam- 
paign, the  Eepublicans  had  their  issues  formulated,  their 
tickets  named  and  were  perfecting  their  campaigning  ma- 
chinery for  the  great  contest  at  the  polls.  How  was  it 
with  the  Democrats  ? 

The  bolt  of  the  ultra  pro-slavery  branch  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  at  Charleston  in  April  and  the  further  break 
at  Baltimore  two  months  later,  had  divided  the  party  into 
two  organic  bodies  with  the  Mason  and  Dixon  Line  be- 
tween them.  Unfortunately  this  left  the  newly  formed 
wings  or  parties  in  a  disturbed  state,  by  the  presence  of  a 
hostile,  even  bitter,  though  small  and  comparatively 
harmless  minority  faction  in  each.  Thus,  while  the 
North  was  a  Douglas  Democracy,  there  were  a  number  of 
Breckinridge  sympathizers  to  further  distract  the  party 
locally.  This  minority  in  Iowa,  as  in  other  Northern 
States,  at  once  defied  the  Douglas  majority  party  by  de- 

42  Fairall's  Manual  of  Iowa  Politics,  Vol.  I  (1881),  p.  54. 


24  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

claring  an  injunction  against  their  use  of  the  old  party 
name.  The  Breckinridge  faction  claimed  the  rightful  title 
to  the  name;  they  constituted  the  National  Democratic 
party.  Already  at  several  centers,  notably  Davenport 
and  Dubuque,  the  ultras  had  held  meetings  ratifying  the 
nomination  of  Breckinridge,  and  by  an  address,43  issued 
June  30th,  had  stated  the  political  issues.  They  were  now 
also  taking  steps  to  hold  a  Breckinridge  State  Convention 
to  name  electors,  though  they  would  make  no  State  nomi- 
nations. 

The  Douglas  party,  controlling  the  situation,  and  refus- 
ing to  give  up  the  name  and  political  privileges,  finally  got 
its  forces  in  line  and  called  the  Democratic  State  Conven- 
tion to  convene  at  Des  Moines,  on  July  12th.  In  spite  of 
the  now  completed  bolt  of  the  old  ultra  pro-slavery  fac- 
tion, the  Convention  was  unexpectedly  large  and,  without 
the  stand-patters,  quite  harmonious.44  Amos  Harris  was 
the  chairman  and  ftie  ticket  nominated  was :  Secretary  of 
State,  John  M.  Corse ;  Treasurer,  John  W.  Ellis  of  Davis 
County;  Auditor,  George  W.  Maxwell  of  Bremer  County; 
Attorney-General,  Wm.  McClintock  of  Fayette  County; 
and  Eegister,  Patrick  Eobb  of  Woodbury  County.  They 
chose  four  of  their  representative  men  for  candidates  for 
Presidential  electors,  the  four  being  Martin  Van  Bur  en 
Bennett,  LeGrand  Byington,  Lincoln  Clark  and  Henry 
Clay  Dean. 

As  to  the  platform,45  they  did  just  the  reverse  of  what 
the  Eepublicans  did  —  drew  up  the  longest  platform  in 
their  history,  containing  thirteen  resolutions  on  the  gen- 

43  The  ' '  Address  to  the  National  Democracy  of  Iowa. ' ' —  Iowa  Weekly 
Bepublican,  July  18,  1860.  This  address  was  signed  by  H.  H.  Heath,  Na- 
tional committeeman  for  Iowa,  and  representing  the  State  at  the  adjourned 
Breckinridge  caucus  at  Baltimore. 

4*  Dubuque  Herald,  July  25,  1860. 

45Fairall's  Manual  of  Iowa  Politics,  Vol.  1  (1881),  pp.  54-57. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  25 

eral  issues  and  pledging  themselves  to  ten  specific  re- 
forms in  state  affairs. 

They  "most  cordially  endorse  and  approve  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic National  Convention"  which  they  regarded  as 
having  met  at  Charleston  and  having  at  an  adjourned 
session  at  Baltimore  "concluded  its  labors  by  the  nomi- 
nation of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  for  the  Presidency ' '. 
Then  they  endorse  the  principles  of  popular  sovereignty 
and  they  condemn  "all  attempts  to  compromise  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  Democratic  party  organization,  by  putting 
Democratic  candidates  for  electors  upon  the  same  ticket 
with  candidates  who  are  not  pledged  to  vote,  if  elected, 
for  Douglas  and  Johnson  and  for  no  other  persons  what- 
soever. ' '  They  also  appeal  to  the  conservatives,  inviting 
them  "to  fall  into  the  Democratic  ranks,  to  crush  the 
hydra-headed  monster,  Congressional  Intervention. " 
They  favor  a  homestead  law  and  call  upon  the  people  to 
make  a  thorough  reform  by  driving  the  Eepublicans  from 
power  in  Iowa,  and  pledge  themselves  to  reforms  in 
State  taxation  and  expenditure,  in  the  control  of  char- 
itable institutions,  and  in  banks  and  their  issues,  and 
promise  a  revision  of  the  State  Constitution.  They  com- 
plain of  the  misappropriation  of  public  money,  and  op- 
pose the  multiplying  of  political  offices  and  the  schemes  of 
railroad  promoting  speculations.  Much  of  the  platform 
was  of  course  mere  political  opposition,  yet  there  were 
some  demands  made  against  certain  evils  which  later  be- 
came so  glaring  that  the  Republican  party  had  to  take 
them  up  to  hold  its  power. 

The  Breckinridge  faction  finally  met  in  convention  on 
August  15th  at  Davenport.46  General  P.  S.  Espy  of  Lee 
County  was  made  chairman.  A  brief  pointed  platform47 

46  Dubuque  Herald,  August  22,  1860.  Editor  Mahoney  gives  a  merciless 
analysis  of  the  faction. 


26  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

was  adopted.  Its  demands  were  based  upon  the  doctrine 
that  the  Territories  are  the  common  property  of  all  the 
States.  All  citizens,  thus  they  argued,  being  joint  owners 
have  the  right  to  settle  there  with  their  legal  property. 
Of  course  the  Dred  Scott  Decision  was  upheld  and  Con- 
gress was  denied  the  right  to  interfere  with  the  intro- 
duction of  slavery  into  the  Territories,  nor  could  the  Ter- 
ritories themselves  interfere.  They  were  "National" 
Democrats  and  so  of  course  applauded  Buchanan's  ad- 
ministration. A  few  weeks  later  the  party  published  an 
"Address  of  the  National  Democrats  of  the  State  of 
Iowa",  purporting  to  have  come  from  the  Convention.48 
It  was  a  lengthy  statement  of  the  pro-slavery  argument. 

The  Convention  chose  four  Presidential  electors  and 
twelve  ' '  assistant ' '  electors.49  The  electors-at-large  were 
G.  C.  E.  Mitchell  of  Davenport  and  P.  S.  Espy ;  J.  D.  Test 
was  chosen  to  represent  the  First  District,  and  John  F. 
Duncombe  the  Second.  The  so-called  assistant  electors 
no  doubt  were  the  committee  to  look  after  the  canvass  of 
the  State.  Among  them  were  several  men  of  promi- 
nence.50 No  State  ticket  was  nominated,  the  main  purpose 
of  the  Convention  being  to  provide  an  electoral  ticket  so 
that  none  might  be  deprived  of  recording  his  wishes  at 
the  ballot-box. 

On  August  7th  a  call  for  a  Constitutional  Union  State 
Convention,  to  be  held  at  Iowa  City  on  August  31st,  was 

47  Iowa  State  Register,  August  22,  1860. 

48  The  Lyons  City  Advocate  (Weekly),  September  8,  1860. 

49  Charles  City  Intelligencer,  August  23,  1860. 

so  The  ' '  Assistant ' '  electors  of  the  Breckinridge  Ticket  were :  C.  Frank- 
lin, W.  H.  English,  W.  G.  Morse,  Elijah  Williams,  D.  R.  Smith,  O.  C. 
Treadway,  George  H.  Parker,  F.  H.  Morse,  J.  C  Knapp,  Daniel  Bell,  L. 
M.  G.  Sales,  W.  C.  Wilson. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  27 

issued.  The  call51  was  signed  by  six  men,  all  residents  of 
the  old  capital  city.  They  were  Easton  Morris,  W.  H. 
Henderson,  George  D.  Crosthwait,  Joseph  Troxel,  D.  W. 
Henderson,  and  Walter  Curtis.  The  Iowa  City  Repub- 
lican gave  the  political  pedigrees52  of  these  men  and  con- 
cluded that  their  action  could  in  no  wise  influence  the  re- 
sult of  the  election  in  the  State,  for  the  votes  won  to  their 
cause  "must  necessarily  be  drawn  principally  from  the 
Democratic  ranks".53  According  to  the  call  the  object 
was  ' i  to  form  an  electoral  ticket  and  to  organize  the  party 
for  efficient  action '  \ 

The  Convention  met  in  pursuance  of  the  call,  assemb- 
ling in  Market  Hall  with  Easton  Morris  as  temporary 
chairman.54  In  adopting  the  report  of  a  committee  on 
permanent  organization,55  Mr.  Ebenezer  Cook  of  Scott 
County  was  made  permanent  chairman  and  eight  honor- 
ary vice-presidents56  and  three  secretaries57  were  chosen. 
The  convention  was  small,  there  being  but  fifteen  counties 

si  The  call  was  first  published  in  the  State  Press  and  later  in  the  weekly 
Iowa  State  Reporter,  August  29,  and  in  the  Iowa  City  Republican,  August 
29,  1860. 

52  Dr.  Crosthwait  and  the  two  Hendersons  usually  acted  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party;   while  the  other  three  had  been  prominent  in  the  American 
party,   although  Walter  Curtis  had  lately  been  identified  with  the  Repub- 
lican party. 

53  Iowa  City  Republican,  August  29,  1860. 

54  The  proceedings  of  the  convention  may  be  found  in  the  Iowa  City  Re- 
publican, September  5,  1860. 

ss  The  committee  was  :  T.  K.  McChesney  of  Hardin,  J.  M.  Eldredge  of 
Scott,  Dr.  Crosthwait  of  Johnson,  and  G.  Worrell  of  Muscatine. 

56  The  Vice-Presidents  were :    D.  W.  Henderson  of  Johnson,  F.  M.  Cum- 
mings  of  Muscatine,  M.  B.  Browning  of  Des  Moines,  L.  D.  Palmer  of  Wood- 
bury,  L.  S.  Viele  of  Scott,  Dr.  Brooks  of  Polk,  C.  W.  Boyer  of  Pottawat- 
tamie,  and  Lauren  Dewey  of  Linn. 

57  The  Secretaries  were:    E.  M.  Littler  of  Scott,  S.  C.  Dunn  of  Musca- 
tine, and  J.  P.  Troxell  of  Johnson. 


28  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

represented  by  about  fifty  delegates.58  Indeed,  this  num- 
ber was  doubtless  secured  by  the  adoption  of  a  motion 
providing  that  "  all  gentlemen  present  friendly  to  the 
cause "  should  be  admitted  as  delegates.  Certain  it  is 
that  there  were  few  local  mass  meetings  or  conventions 
held  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  delegates  to  the  State 
Convention.  Two  such  were  held,  however,  on  August 
25th,  one  at  Des  Moines59  and  the  other  at  Muscatine.60 
All  in  all,  the  convention  was  somewhat  of  an  impromptu 
affair,  yet  it  proceeded  in  an  ambitious  way  to  get  the 
Constitutional  Union  issues  before  the  people. 

In  almost  every  instance  the  business  of  the  convention 
was  initiated  by  special  committees.  A  committee61  was 
appointed  to  name  an  electoral  ticket,  and  upon  its  recom- 
mendation, Col.  W.  H.  Henderson  of  Marshall  County, 
and  Martin  D.  McHenry  of  Polk  County  were  chosen  as 
electors-at-large ;  and  C.  W.  Boyer  of  Pottawattamie 
County,  and  J.  J.  Lindley  of  Scott  County  were  made  the 
District  Electors.  This  not  being  enough  they,  like  the 
Eepublicans,  named  two  "assistant  electors ",  J.  C.  Sav- 
ery  of  Polk  County  for  the  First,  and  Capt.  J.  H.  Wallace 
of  Muscatine  for  the  Second  District. 

The  Committee  on  Eesolutions  was  composed  of  Martin 
D.  McHenry,  Capt.  J.  H.  Wallace,  and  L.  S.  Viele,  and  re- 

ss  This  is  in  accordance  with  Dr.  Pelzer  's  figures  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of 
History  and  Politics,  Vol.  VII,  p.  124,  and  seems  as  nearly  correct  as  the 
extant  data  will  warrant.  The  Dubuque  Herald  of  September  5,  1860,  how- 
ever, makes  the  statement  that  there  were  125  delegates  from  about  half 
the  counties  of  the  State  present.  But  Mr.  Cook,  on  taking  the  chair, 
recognized  the  smallness  of  the  convention,  which  he  probably  would  not 
have  done  had  there  been  as  many  as  125. 

5»  The  Iowa  State  Register,  August  29,  1860. 
eo  Muscatine  Weekly  Journal,  August  31,  1860. 

ei  The  Committee  was  Charles  Harris  of  Scott,  B.  Schenck  of  Muscatine, 
Lauren  Dewey  of  Linn,  Captain  J.  H.  Wallace  of  Muscatine,  and  Dr.  George 
D.  Crosthwait  of  Johnson. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  29 

ported  a  platform  of  five  resolutions.  The  threatened 
safety  of  the  country  they  lay  at  the  feet  of  the  two  lead- 
ing parties,  and  call  upon  the  executive  and  judicial  de- 
partments of  the  National  Government  to  keep  within 
their  own  individual  spheres.  Then  with  a  bit  of  uncon- 
scious irony  upon  their  own  tendency,  they  declare  that 
"the  prime  cause  of  the  present  state  of  affairs "  is  due  to 
"delusive  and  ambiguous  platforms".  The  force  of  this 
is  apparent  in  their  appeal  -to  the  people  of  Iowa  to  vote 
for  Bell  and  Everett,  since  they  stand  upon  the  platform 
of  "the  Constitution,  the  union  of  the  States  and  the  en- 
forcement of  the  laws." 

Whatever  this  party's  principles  were  then,  the  busi- 
ness of  the  convention  was  next  directed  towards  organ- 
izing a  campaign  to  carry  them  at  the  polls.  A  committee 
was  appointed62  to  nominate  a  "State  Executive  Com- 
mittee",63 whose  duty  it  should  be  to  conduct  the  cam- 
paign. It  was  also  authorized  to  fill  any  possible  vacan- 
cies on  the  ticket.  The  only  question  eliciting  any  consid- 
erable discussion  was  W.  H.  Henderson's  proposition 
that  they  name  a  State  ticket.  This  after  a  sharp,  stren- 
uous contest  was  voted  down.  A  new  paper,  the  Mes- 
senger, just  launched  at  Muscatine  by  Mr.  S.  C.  Dunn  and 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  Bell  and  Everett,  was  recom- 
mended as  a  sort  of  party  organ.  After  an  evening  rati- 
fication session,  at  which  speeches  were  delivered  by  Dr. 
J.  F.  Henry,  W.  H.  Worthington,  and  M.  D.  McHenry,  the 
convention  adjourned.  Thus,  by  the  time  the  contest  be- 

62  The  Committee  was:     M.  D.  MeHenry,  General  Morris,  J.  F.  Dunlap 
of  Lee,  A.  J.  Hyde  of  Scott,  and  G.  G.  Mahan  of  Muscatine. 

63  State  Executive  Committee  of  the  Constitutional  Union  Party :    John 
P.  Cook  of  Scott,  L.  S.  Viele  of  Scott,  W.  H.  Worthington  of  Lee,  J.  F. 
Henry    of    Des   Moines,    H.   S.    Compton  of   Muscatine,   Easton   Morris    of 
Johnson,  J.  C.  Savery  of  Polk,  J.  B.  Stutzman  of  Pottawattamie,  W.  H. 
Jenkins  of  Washington,  and  T.  H.  Monroe  of  Dubuque. 


30  TEE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

tween  the  Eepublicans  and  Democrats  was  well  under 
way,  the  second  of  the  two  ' '  third "  parties  was  also  in 
line  for  the  final  dash  to  the  polls. 

THE  CAMPAIGN 

The  campaign  of  1860  is  one  memorable  in  the  annals 
of  Iowa,  as  in  the  country  at  large.  Its  opening,  if  it  can 
be  said  to  have  been  opened  at  any  particular  time,  was, 
on  the  part  of  the  Eepublicans,  featured  by  Lincoln  ratifi- 
cation meetings.  These  immediately  followed  the  State 
Convention  and  continued  throughout  the  month  of  June. 
Probably  the  first  formal  ratification  however  was  held  at 
Keokuk64  on  May  22nd,  the  day  before  the  State  Conven- 
tion. It  was  an  occasion  of  great  rejoicing,  much  noise- 
making,  marching  and  speaking.  Large  ratification  meet- 
ings were  held  at  Des  Moines65  on  May  31st,  at  Charles 
City66  on  June  2nd,  with  others  all  through  the  month, 
among  the  last  being  a  great  celebration  at  Ottumwa67  on 
June  22nd.  These  meetings  introduced  to  the  masses  of 
the  people  not  only  the  Presidential  candidate  and  his 
platform,  but  the  man  Lincoln,  and  before  the  campaign 
was  ended  not  only  were  the  issues  known  to  all,  but  the 
life  of  Lincoln  had  become  an  open  book.  They  accepted 
him  as  one  of  their  very  own,  and  as  one  singled  out  and 
called  to  a  great  purpose. 

While  the  campaign  was  conducted  with  considerable 
party  animosity  and  personal  abuse,  accompanied  by 
ludicrous  caricatures,  noise-making  and  hurrahing,  al- 
most equaling  the  famous  campaigns  of  Jackson  and  of 
Harrison,  yet,  underneath  all  there  probably  never  was  a 

64  Keokuk  Gate  City,  May  22,  1860. 

65  State  Journal,  June  2,  1860. 

ee  Charles  City  Intelligencer,  June  7,  1860. 
67  Ottumwa  Courier,  June  28,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PEEIOD  31 

political  campaign  in  the  West,  the  issues  of  which  so 
gripped  the  average  man  and  held  him  to  judgment,  as 
the  campaign  of  1860.  If  organization  and  persistency 
ever  accomplished  anything,  such  was  certainly  the  case 
in  this  campaign  —  especially  on  the  part  of  the  Bepub- 
licans.  They  accepted  the  challenge,  forced  the  issue,  and 
organized  for  victory,  taking  no  chances. 

It  was  at  the  State  Convention  in  May  that  the  Bepub- 
licans  conceived  the  plan  of  organization  so  effective  in 
the  canvass  of  the  State.  At  that  time  a  committee  on 
"  State  Organization "  was  appointed  to  work  out  a  plan 
to  present  to  the  Convention.  Mr.  Kasson,  State  Chair- 
man, was  a  member  of  the  committee,68  and  though  he  had 
able  assistants  in  William  F.  Davis,  W.  B.  Fairfield,  and 
Samuel  McFarland,  as  well  as  others,  the  report  present- 
ed was  largely  the  result  of  his  ideas  gathered  from  ex- 
perience in  such  work.  The  plan  adopted  was  to  organize 
uniformly  the  counties  throughout  the  State,  as  the  units 
of  the  organization;  at  the  head  of  each  was  to  be  the 
county  central  committee,  representative  of  the  local 
township  units.  The  chairmen  of  the  several  county  com- 
mittees within  each  Judicial.  District  were  to  constitute 
the  executive  committee  for  the  district.  These  executive 
committees,  eleven  in  all,  were  to  be  in  close  touch  with 
the  State  Central  Committee,  which  should  be  at  the  head 
of  all,  directing  the  campaign  as  a  whole.  A  strong  State 
Central  Committee69  was  chosen,  and  Mr.  Kasson  was  re- 
tained as  chairman. 

es  Committee  on  "State  Organization",  by  Districts:  (1)  Samuel  Mc- 
Farland, (2)  S.  G.  McAchron,  (3)  C.  Watkins,  (4)  E.  G.  Morgan,  (5)  John 
A.  Kasson,  (6)  J.  A.  Young,  (7)  William  F.  Davis,  (8)  J.  Dysart,  (9) 
J.  8.  Woodward,  (10)  W.  B.  Fairfield,  (11)  S.  G.  Winchester. 

69  The  Republican  State  Central  Committee  for  1860,  by  Districts :  John 
A.  Kasson,  Chairman,  (1)  Samuel  F.  Miller,  (2)  James  B.  Weaver,  (3) 
George  A.  Hawley,  (4)  L.  H.  Smith,  (5)  H.  M.  Hoxie,  (6)  John  E.  Need- 


32  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

While  the  State  Central  Committee  was  engaged  in 
working  out  the  details  of  the  campaigning  machinery, 
the  Congressional  Conventions  were  being  held,  nomina- 
tions made,  and  declarations  issued.  The  Eepublicans  of 
the  Second  District  led  out  with  their  Convention70  at 
Iowa  City  on  May  24th.  The  Convention  was  fully  repre- 
sented and  enthusiastic,  with  Mr.  Hiram  Price  as  the 
chairman.  The  question  of  making  a  declaration  of  prin- 
ciples was  disposed  of  by  reaffirming  the  recently  adopted 
State  platform,  which  in  turn,  it  will  be  recalled,  was  a  re- 
affirmation  of  the  National  platform  —  an  evidence  of 
perfect  party  articulation  throughout.  The  Convention 
endorsed  the  record  of  William  Vandever  in  Congress  by 
re-nominating  him  as  their  candidate  for  Eepresentative. 
Nevertheless,  while  Mr.  Vandever  was  re-nominated  by 
acclamation,  it  was  not  accomplished  without  a  showing  of 
hands  by  an  informal  ballot.  The  ballot71  revealed  two 
other  aspirants,  both  popular  men,  William  Penn  Clarke 
and  Jacob  Butler,  who  together  received  eighty-eight  of 
the  votes  cast,  as  opposed  to  Mr.  Vandever 's  two  hundred 
and  three.  Outside  of  this  contest  one  feature  of  the  Con- 
vention was  a  speech  by  the  eloquent  young  orator,  Mr. 
Stewart  L.  Woodford  of  New  York,  who  had  come  out 
west  to  stir  the  people  with  eastern  Eepublicanism. 

The  First  District  Eepublicans  met  a  month  later 
(June  20th)  at  Oskaloosa.72  All  the  counties  of  the  dis- 
trict, save  a  few  of  the  smaller  ones,  were  represented, 
and  the  work  of  the  Convention  was  spirited.  They  also 
re-nominated  their  Eepresentative,  Mr.  Samuel  E.  Curtis, 

ham,  (7)  W.  A.  Warren,  (8)  W.  H.  Tuthill,  (9)  S.  J.  W.  Tabor,  (10)  W. 
B.  Fairfield,   (11)   H.  C.  Henderson. 

70  Proceedings  in  the  Iowa  City  Republican,  May  3,  1860. 

71  The  ballot  was:    William  Vandever,  203;   William  Penn  Clarke,  44; 
Jacob  Butler,  44;  William  Smyth,  1. 

72  Ottumwa  Courier,  June  7,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  33 

though  with  less  unanimity  than  in  the  Second  District. 
There  were  three  strong  men  in  competition  with  Mr. 
Curtis  for  the  prize.  They  were,  William  H.  Seevers, 
James  F.  Wilson,  and  Alvin  Saunders.  Mr.  Curtis,  how- 
ever, on  an  informal  ballot,73  received  a  majority  of  sev- 
enteen votes  and  by  acclamation  was  made  the  "unani- 
mous choice'7  of  the  convention.  It  is  quite  noticeable 
that  as  the  Republicans  came  into  possession  of  the  of- 
fices, the  number  of  aspirants  to  office-holding  increased ; 
yet  at  this  time  the  common  bond  of  a  great  national  issue 
kept  them  from  breaking  into  factions  over  place,  policy 
and  power.  This  convention  drew  up  a  brief  platform  in 
keeping  with  Eepublican  principles. 

The  Democratic  Congressional  Conventions  were  not 
held  until  in  July.  The  First  District  Convention  as- 
sembled on  the  llth  at  Des  Moines,  and  the  Second  Dis- 
trict Convention  at  Cedar  Eapids  on  the  17th.  The  calls 
for  the  conventions,  however,  had  been  issued  early  in 
June.74  The  Des  Moines  Convention  coming  just  the  day 
before  the  State  Convention  was  quite  large  and  enthusi- 
astic.75 In  this  District  the  Democrats  were  hopeful  of 
success,  consequently  the  contest  for  the  nomination  was 
keen.  Five  candidates,  all  well  known  men,  appeared  in 
an  informal  ballot.  Then  with  the  withdrawal  of  one,76 
and  a  second  ballot,77  Mr.  C.  C.  Cole,  although  fifty-six 
votes  behind  the  combined  opposition,  was  made  the  nom- 
inee by  * '  unanimous  "  action. 

73  The  ballot  was:  Samuel  E.  Curtis,  124%;  William  H.  Seevers,  64; 
James  F.  Wilson,  22%;  Alvin  Saunders,  21. 

T*Dubuque  Herald,  June  3,  1860. 

75  Proceedings  in  the  Iowa  State  Journal,  July  14,  1860. 

76  Henry  H.  Trimble,  who  had  twice  been  honored  with  the  nomination. 

77  The  second  ballot  was:  C.  C.  Cole,  104;  P.  Gad  Bryan,  76;  Thomas  W. 
Claggett,  48 ;  Henry  Clay  Dean,  36. 


34  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

The  Cedar  Rapids  Convention78  was  comparatively 
small,  there  being  but  seventeen  out  of  the  fifty-eight 
counties  represented.  It  was  also  less  enthusiastic  than 
the  one  at  Des  Moines  and  the  contest  for  the  nomination 
was  rather  tame,  probably  for  the  reason  that  the  Demo- 
crats by  this  time  had  come  to  regard  the  nomination  for 
Congress  in  that  District  as  a  forlorn  hope.  Mr.  Ben  M. 
Samuels,  on  an  informal  ballot,  received  almost  the  en- 
tire vote  over  Senator  George  Green  from  Linn  County 
and  John  H.  Peters  of  Delaware  County.  Speech-making 
was  indulged  in  at  both  these  District  Conventions,  Col. 
Thomas  of  Buchanan  County  arousing  the  delegates  at 
Cedar  Eapids  with  an  old-time  Democratic  speech ;  while 
at  Des  Moines  a  number  of  the  leaders  reviewed  the  past 
and  depicted  the  status  quo. 

Both  conventions  also  passed  resolutions.  Those  of 
the  Second  District  merely  endorsed  the  "  Democratic 
doctrines  on  the  subject  of  slavery  and  all  other  subjects 
indicated ' '  in  the  National  platform  and  ratified  the  nom- 
ination of  Douglas  and  Johnson.  The  Convention  at  Des 
Moines  drew  up  an  elaborate  platform,  restating  some  of 
the  National  and  State  issues  and  endorsing  the  National, 
State,  and  Congressional  tickets.79 

Of  the  organized  agencies  in  this  campaign,  the  one 
most  potent  and  probably  the  one  destined  to  live  in 

78  Iowa  Democratic  Enquirer,  July  26,  1860. 

79  The  eulogy  on  Mr.  Cole 's  Democracy  is  especially  interesting  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  he  was  so  soon  to  leave  the  party.     They  say :    ' '  That  in 
the  unanimous  nomination  of   the  Hon.   C.  C.   Cole   for  Eepresentative   to 
Congress,  this  Convention  feels  a  proud  satisfaction  in  commending  him  to 
the  people  of  this  entire  district  a®  every  whit  worthy  of  the   station  to 
which  he  has  this  day  been  designated,  combining  as  he  does  eminent  legal 
and  literary   acquirements,  with  great  moral  worth,   coupled  with  a  large 
amount    of   political   experience,    and   unwavering    devotion    to   Democratic 
principles;  and  we  hereby  pledge  ourselves  to  him  and  to  one  another  to  use 
all  honorable  means  to  secure  his  election." 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEBIOD  35 

men's  minds,  was  the  club  known  as  the  " Wide-awakes ". 
The  importance  of  the  Wide-awake  companies  was  their 
enlistment  of  young  men.  But  the  Wide-awake  move- 
ment was  the  successor  of  an  earlier  scheme  to  interest 
the  young  men  in  the  campaign. 

One  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  young  men's  organiza- 
tions was  formed  in  March  at  Muscatine,  a  political  hot- 
house of  that  time.  A  call80  was  issued  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  " Young  Men's  Republican  Working  Club  for 
Bloomington  Township",  and  it  was  to  aid  in  the  "ac- 
tive work  of  the  approaching  Presidential  contest". 
Among  the  leaders  of  the  movement  and  signers  of  the 
"call"  were  D.  C.  Richman,  Theodore  S.  Parvin,  Aaron 
Stein,  John  0.  Wilson,  L.  H.  Washburn,  and  editor  John 
Mahin. 

At  a  meeting81  in  Tremont  Hall  on  March  26th  the  or- 
ganization was  effected  by  the  adoption  of  a  constitution 
and  the  election  of  officers.  According  to  the  preamble, 
it  was  the  purpose  of  the  club  to  secure  '  '  the  ascendancy 
and  perpetuity  of  the  principles ' '  of  the  Eepublican  party 
and  also  "the  election  of  its  candidates  to  all  places  of 
honor  and  trust  in  the  Government".  To  this  end  the 
work  of  the  club  was  to  hold  meetings,  circulate  "political 
documents",  and  promote  the  thorough  organization  of 
the  Republican  party  in  that  township.  Similar  clubs 
were  organized  in  other  towns,  but  all  were  rather  iso- 
lated and  independent,  and  ere  long  gave  place  to  the 
famous  clubs  of  young  Republicans,  the  Wide-awakes. 
This  movement  originated  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,82 
took  possession  of  the  East,  and  rapidly  made  its  way 

so  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  March  22,  1860. 
si  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  March  27,  1860. 

82  See  Nicolay  and  Hay's,  Abraham  Lincoln,  A  History,  Vol.  II,  pp.  284, 
285;  and  New  York  Tribune,  June  2,  1860. 


36  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

westward.  By  July  when  the  Bepublican  campaigning 
propaganda  was  getting  into  form  the  Wide-awake  move- 
ment reached  Iowa.  It  was  at  Muscatine  again  where  the 
first  club  was  formally  organized.83  At  this  meeting  on 
Thursday  evening,  July  20th,  Mr.  Henry  O'Connor  ap- 
peared dressed  in  a  full  Wide-awake  uniform,  consisting 
of  cap  and  cape  of  oil-cloth,  and  a  torch  "warranted  not 
to  spill  the  fluid  on  the  hand".  The  Wide-awakes  differed 
from  the  former  clubs  not  only  in  their  having  uniforms, 
but  also  in  their  uniform  constitution  and  organization. 

The  constitution84  admitted  to  membership  any  Re- 
publican over  eighteen  years  of  age.  All  members  were 
required  to  sign  the  constitution  and  to  "co-operate  for 
the  success  of  the  Eepublican  principles  and  the  election 
of  Lincoln  and  Hamlin,  and  the  entire  Eepublican  tick- 
et ",  and  then  upon  the  payment  of  the  fee  of  $2.00,  they 
were  given  the  uniform  and  became  full-fledged  Wide- 
awakes. The  members  of  the  companies  were  further- 
more bound  upon  honor  to  refrain  from  profanity,  intoxi- 
cation, and  ungentlemanly  conduct  upon  all  public  oc- 
casions. Besides  the  usual  officers  of  a  club,  there  were  a 
chaplain  and  three  lieutenants  to  each  company.  These 
officers,  together  with  the  uniforms,  torches  and  regular 
drills,  were  the  military  features  of  the  organization 
which  were  calculated  to  attract  young  men.  Instances 
are  told  of  young  Democrats  being  won  into  the  ranks  of 
the  Republican  party  through  the  Wide-awakes. 

A  club  organized  at  Ottumwa  made  its  first  appearance 
on  August  29th,85  and  so  on  throughout  the  State,  the 
work  of  organization  continued  until  nearly  the  time  of 
the  election.  In  all  the  rallies  the  Wide-awakes  were  con- 

ss  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  July  21,  1860. 

s*  Constitution  printed  in  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  July  23,  1860. 

ss  Ottumwa  Courier,  August  30,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  37 

spicuous  factors.  In  September  a  "county  encampment " 
was  held  at  Muscatine,  which  illustrates  both  the  prom- 
inence of  the  Wide-awakes  and  the  character  of  the  cam- 
paign rallies.  Here  they  were  given  the  front  rank  in  a 
long  procession  which  reproduced  in  pantomime  the  life 
of  Lincoln,  and  in  which  the  political  issues  of  the  day 
were  also  caricatured.86  Again  on  October  4th  at  Iowa 
City  there  was  a  "grand  Wide-awake  procession "  clos- 
ing with  a  "grand  drill"  for  a  prize  of  $100,  on  the  last 
night  of  the  State  Fair.  And  on  October  10th  there  was 
a  "Great  Public  Day"  at  Keokuk,87  where  25,000  people 
are  reported  to  have  been  present  to  witness  a  Wide- 
awake procession  of  twenty-six  companies  with  2,500  in 
line. 

The  campaign  brought  out  the  best  known  and  ablest 
speakers  of  each  party,  as  well  as  many  new  ones.  The 
Eepublican  cause  was  strengthened  by  the  great  speeches 
of  Senators  Harlan  and  Grimes;  while  Eepresentatives 
Curtis  and  Vandever  were  in  demand  on  long  tours 
throughout  their  respective  districts.  Governor  Kirk- 
wood  left  the  executive  chamber  for  the  campaign  stump, 
as  did  also  others  of  the  State  House  force,  especially 

se  <  <  The  Wide  Awake  companies  came  first  in  line.  ...  In  the  line 
were  numerous  flags,  banners,  mottoes,  and  many  exceedingly  ludicrous  de- 
vices. The  'Bail  Splitters'  of  the  Island  rather  excelled  all  other  delega- 
tions in  this  respect.  On  one  wagon,  men  were  engaged  splitting  rails; 
another  contained  a  flat-boat  representing  Lincoln's  early  life  in  Western 
waters.  They  had,  also,  some  well  gotten  up  caricatures.  One  represented 
a  slaveholder  about  to  cross  the  line  separating  free  from  slave  territory 
with  his  gang  of  slaves,  when  he  is  confronted  by  the  representatives  of 
free  labor  in  the  persons  of  the  Irishman,  the  German  and  the  Yankee 
each  of  whom  forbids  it.  ...  The  Little  Giant  is  busily  endeavoring, 
with  rails  labeled  respectively  'Lecompton',  'Squatter-Sovereignty',  and 
'  Dred  Scott ',  to  fence  in  his  Southern  plantation.  In  this  connection,  a 
log  represents  the  Dem.  party  split  in  two  and  rotten  at  the  core.  Old  Abe 
stands  over  it  with  his  maul  and  says  '  I  '11  finish  it '  ' '. — Muscatine  Daily 
Journal,  September  15,  1860. 

87  Keokuk  Gate  City,  October  11,  1860. 


38  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Attorney  General  C.  C.  Nourse  and  J.  W.  Cattell.  Be- 
sides these  the  State-wide  field  called  into  service  the 
candidates  for  State  office,  the  nominees  for  electors,  and 
some  of  the  leading  editors,  such  as  James  B.  Howell, 
Clark  Dunham,  Frank  W.  Palmer,  and  others.  Then, 
also,  through  the  County  Central  Committees  a  vast  ar- 
my of  local  speakers  took  the  stump,  and  the  young  men 
especially  were  enlisted  in  holding  schoolhouse  rallies  in 
the  rural  communities.  Never  before  were  such  volleys 
of  campaign  thunder  heard  on  the  prairies  of  Iowa. 

The  Democrats  were  not  far  behind  in  furnishing 
prominent  men  and  able  campaigners,  though  their  cam- 
paigning organization  was  much  less  efficient.  All  the 
candidates  for  State  office  were  out  in  force  and,  besides 
the  Congressional  candidates,  Cole  and  Samuels,  prob- 
ably the  most  effective  speakers  were  the  electoral  nomi- 
nees, Le  Grand  Byington,  the  Rev.  Henry  Clay  Dean, 
Lincoln  Clark,  and  Martin  Van  Buren  Bennett.  The 
Democratic  State  Central  Committee,  as  well  as  the  corps 
of  local  speakers  and  newspaper  men,  were  also  on  the 
stump.  A  prominent  feature  of  the  campaign  was  the 
series  of  joint  debates,  especially  between  the  Congres- 
sional candidates  of  the  First  District,  C.  C.  Cole  and  S. 
E.  Curtis.88 

But  while  the  speaking  was  almost  wholly  done  by 
home  talent,  there  were  at  least  two  prominent  out-of-the- 
state  speakers  brought  to  the  Iowa  platform  —  William 
H.  Seward  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  Both  men  spoke  to 
great  throngs  of  people  eager  to  hear  the  issues  from  the 
lips  of  two  of  the  foremost  leaders  in  the  National  con- 

88 A  Kepublican  hand-bill  announcing  a  joint  debate  between  these  two 
men  at  Keosauqua  calls  upon  the  public  to  come  out  and  see  the  daring 
Democratic  candidate,  C.  C.  Cole,  torn  to  pieces  by  Representative  Samuel 
E.  Curtis. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  BECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  39 

test.  Seward  spoke  at  Dubuque89  on  Friday,  September 
21st,  and  Ms  speech90  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the 
people.  His  message  exalted  free  labor,  and  in  his  com- 
parisons he  struck  heavy  blows  at  the  system  of  slave 
labor.  But,  while  Seward  touched  the  mere  border  of  the 
State,  Douglas  made  a  detour  into  the  State,  speaking  at 
Iowa  City91  on  October  9th,  at  Cedar  Rapids92  on  the  10th 
and  ending  at  Dubuque  on  the  llth.  The  "Little  Giant" 
was  applauded,  and  with  a  faith  almost  reverent  the  peo- 
ple hung  upon  his  words ;  yet  he  appeared  as  one  in  the 
enemy's  country,  weary  and  worn  almost  to  exhaustion, 
fighting  a  losing  battle. 

The  campaign  was  thus  a  contest  between  the  two 
great  parties.  The  two  minor  factions  did  little  cam- 
paigning and  at  most  could  but  await  the  time  when  they 
could  register  their  wills  at  the  ballot  box.  The  Repub- 
lican press  as  well  as  the  speakers  could  with  impunity 
ignore  the  Breckinridge  faction,  while  the  Constitutional 
Union  men,  more  closely  related,  they  could  easily  an- 
swer. This  faction  was  sharply  informed  that  the  Re- 
publican party  was  "the  only  Union  Party ",93  since, 
while  all  other  parties  were  saying  that  the  Union  would 
be  dissolved,  it  declared  that  ' '  The  Union  must  and  shall 
be  preserved ".  Thus  again,  it  became  quite  clear  that 
the  contest  was  one  between  the  Republicans  on  one  side 
as  against  all  other  parties.  The  Democrats  were  espe- 
cially disturbed  over  the  situation;  for  they  felt  keenly 
their  loss  in  the  Breckinridge  bolt,  as  also  to  some  extent 

89  Iowa  State  'Register,  September  26,  1860. 

so  Seward »s  Works  (Baker's  Ed.),  Vol.  IV,  pp.  368-385. 

si  Iowa  State  Press,  October  16,  1860. 

92  Cedar  Democrat,  October  11,  1860. 

93  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  6,  1860. 


40  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

through  Bell  and  Everett,  and  anxiously  declared  that 
something  should  be  done  to  defeat  the  Eepublicans. 

There  was  talk  of  "fusion",  which  was  advocated  by 
some  as  the  only  means  of  bringing  about  that  much  cov- 
eted result,  but  the  Democrats  themselves  divided  on  the 
question  and  misunderstandings  arose.  The  Davenport 
Democrat  charged  the  Dubuque  Herald  with  advocating 
fusion.  Editor  Mahoney  retorted  that  the  only  fusion  he 
had  advocated  was  * '  the  laying  down  of  arms  by  all  bolt- 
ers, and  giving  their  votes  to  Douglas  and  Johnson".94 
He  then  appealed  to  all,  regardless  of  party,  who  be- 
lieved with  him  that  the  extremists  both  in  the  North  and 
in  the  South  were  wrong,  to  give  their  support  to  the 
"true  Democracy".  This  frenzied  despair  of  the  Demo- 
crats, that  something  had  to  be  done  to  defeat  the  Ee- 
publicans, together  with  the  fusion  talk,  called  forth  the 
sarcastic  rejoinder  of  the  Eepublicans  that  there  was  only 
one  party  trying  to  elect  anybody;  all  the  others  were 
merely  opposing  that  election.95 

On  the  eve  of  the  election  the  Eepublican  press  printed 
the  election  laws  of  the  State  and  warned  all  Eepublicans 
to  obey  the  same  and  to  see  to  it  that  those  of  other 
parties  did  likewise.  Voters  on  both  sides  were  instruct- 
ed as  to  challenging  at  the  polls,  they  were  repeatedly 
warned  against  bogus  tickets,96  printed  "pasters"  were 
to  be  prepared  for  every  precinct,  and  partisans  every- 
where were  cautioned  about  having  sufficient  tickets  on 
hand  and  to  see  that  they  were  given  out  to  every  voter. 

94  Dubuque  Herald,  October  27,  1860. 

»5  Said  Mr.  Mahin :  ' '  There  is  only  one  party  in  the  country  now  trying 
to  elect  anybody.  The  Republicans  are  trying  to  elect  Abraham  Lincoln. 
The  other  parties  are  merely  opposed  to  the  election  of  Lincoln." — Musca- 
tine  Daily  Journal,  November  5,  1860. 

96  For  instance,  a  ticket  headed  by  Lincoln  and  Hamlin,  with  the  names 
of  the  Democratic  electors  pinned  underneath. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  41 

The  last  admonitions  were:  "Let  no  Bepublican  voter 
remain  at  home";97  "Let  no  Democratic  voter  stay  away 
from  the  polls  ",98 

Furthermore,  election  day  was  looked  upon  as  the  best 
day  for  effective  campaigning.  On  Monday  morning  the 
5th,  editor  John  Mahin  gave  out  the  characteristic  order : 
'  *  Stay  by  the  polls  and  proffer  tickets !  Urge  the  waver- 
ing and  the  doubtful.  Let  no  one  scratch  his  ticket.  If 
you  devote  the  whole  day  to  save  a  vote  for  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, our  State  ticket,  or  Charles  S.  Foster,"  it  will  be 
the  best  day's  work  of  the  year7'.100  This  was  matched 
by  Mr.  Mahoney  a  week  earlier,  when  he  urged,  not  the 
Democrats,  but  "the  people ",  to  "come  to  the  polls  .  . 
.  .  defeat  the  hopes  of  the  Lincolnites  and  give  your 
votes  to  Douglas".101  He  at  the  same  time  appealed  to 
the  Democrats  to  "bring  the  State  back",  to  which  end 
they  were  to  "vote  the  Democratic  ticket  straight".  The 
Democrats  apparently  were  making  a  real  fight  to  regain 
the  State,  while  the  Republicans,  secure  in  their  position, 
were  so  nearly  absorbed  in  the  national  issues  that  they 
at  the  last  feared  for  the  safety  of  the  State  ticket  and 
for  several  days  previous  to,  and  on  the  morning  of  elec- 
tion day,  repeatedly  called  attention  to  this  fact.  Interest 
in  the  National  ticket,  however,  was  really  no  detraction 
from  the  State  ticket,  and  the  party  went  to  the  polls  with 
the  grim  determination  to  "make  the  election  decisive 
this  time",102  so  far  as  the  question  of  slavery  extension 

97  Iowa  State  Register,  November  3,  1860. 
t>8  Iowa  State  Journal,  November  5,  1860. 
89  A  local  candidate  for  clerk  of  the  District  Court  of  Muscatine  County. 

100  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  5,  1860. 

101  Dubuque  Herald,  October  1,  1860. 

102  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  5,  1860. 


42  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

was  concerned.    How  well  the  Eepublicans  lined  up  for  a 
straight  party  vote  will  be  seen. 

THE   ELECTION 

The  long,  hard-fought  campaign  came  to  a  climax  on 
election  day,  Tuesday,  November  6th.  The  next  morning 
and  indeed  for  several  days,  the  returns  showed  "a 
strange  mixture  of  odds  and  ends".103  The  somewhat 
doubtful  confidence  of  the  Eepublicans  as  to  the  election 
at  large  was  buoyed  by  the  press.  Startling  headlines, 
pictures  of  "the  big  gun"  mounted  with  the  flag  —  for 
they  could  not  then  disassociate  a  political  campaign 
from  a  military  encounter  —  and  guesses  in  large  figures 
adorned  the  columns  of  the  newspapers. 

Iowa  Eepublicans  were  confident  of  the  outcome  of  the 
election  at  home.  The  State  would  without  doubt  give 
Lincoln  a  majority  and  the  estimates  ran  up  all  the  way 
from  10,000  to  30,000.  lowans  were  anxious  about  the 
result  in  other  States ;  they  shared  the  common  fear  that 
the  closeness  of  the  electoral  vote  might  throw  the  final 
choice  into  the  House  of  Eepresentatives.  By  the  8th, 
however,  enough  was  known  to  make  Lincoln's  election 
quite  certain,  and  "Three  cheers  for  Old  Abe"  was  heard 
everywhere.104  On  the  9th105  all  doubt  was  cleared  away 
and  people  read  the  startling,  almost  sensational,  news 
that  all  the  northern  States  but  one  —  New  Jersey  —  had 
gone  for  Lincoln,  with  majorities  ranging  from  4,500  in 
Ehode  Island  to  70,000  each  in  Pennsylvania  and  Massa- 
chusetts, and  with  even  New  York  not  far  behind.  The 
Democratic  papers  generally  from  the  first  conceded  the 
election  to  the  Eepublicans.  The  Dubuque  Herald  put  it 

103  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  7,  1860. 

104  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  8,   1860. 

105  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  9,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  43 

mildly  that  "Lincoln's  election  is  possible  ",  and  admit- 
ted that  there  was  a  general  increase  of  Eepublican  ma- 
jorities in  the  Northern  States.106 

The  contest  in  Iowa,  of  course,  was  between  the  Lin- 
coln and  Douglas  supporters;  consequently  with  the  as- 
sured victory  of  the  Republicans  the  defeated  Douglas 
party  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  Eepublican  exuberance  and 
jibes.  The  greatest  torture  that  the  Democrats  could  be 
subjected  to,  was  to  see  everywhere  the  comparison  of 
the  electoral  votes  of  Lincoln  and  of  Douglas.  These 
were  summarized  by  the  graphic  method  of  the  pyra- 
mid,107 which  conceded  to  Douglas  a  hollow  shell  resting 
upon  the  then  doubtful  State  of  Missouri,  while  the  Re- 
publicans were  awarded  a  solid  cone  of  sixteen  States. 
The  Republicans  also  took  great  delight  in  the  apparent 
satisfaction  which  each  of  the  opposing  Democratic  fac- 
tions got  out  of  the  defeat  of  the  other.  Breckinridge 
Democrats  were  heard  to  express  satisfaction  in  the  de- 


Herald,  November  7,  1860. 

107  The  Muscatine  Daily  Journal  of  November  20th  presented  the  Ee- 
publican Pyramid;  then  on  the  22nd  printed  the  Democratic,  showing  the 
hollowness  of  the  Douglas  vote. 

Eepublican    pyramid  Douglas  pyramid 

Ohio 

Iowa  - 

Maine 

Indiana  ... 

Vermont 

Illinois 

Wisconsin 

Michigan 

New  York 

Minnesota  -        -       •        -.« 

Connecticut 
New          Hampshire 
Ehode  Island 

Pennsylvania        M3       i        s        s        o        u        r        i 
Massachusetts     Hurrah    for    D-O-U-G-L-A-S    (maybe) 


44  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

feat  of  Douglas,  while  Douglas  men  rejoiced  that  "Old 
Abe  had  beaten  Breckinridge ' '.  The  Bell  and  Everett 
followers  had  expected  nothing  and  so  took  great  satis- 
faction in  the  fact  that  their  "  principles "  had  carried 
in  the  border  States  —  a  good  omen  of  holding  the  Union 
together.  "The  result  seems  to  satisfy  everybody ",  said 
John  Mahin,  "and  the  country  is  once  more  safe".108 
This  may  have  expressed  the  feelings  of  the  Republicans ; 
but  if  so,  they  were  soon  to  be  convinced  of  the  falsity  of 
both  statements. 

The  result  in  the  State  was  attributed  both  to  the  sys- 
tematic campaigning109  and  to  the  uprising  of  the  masses, 
after  sober  investigation,  against  the  evils  of  slavery.110 
Organization  and  purpose,  then,  may  be  taken  as  the  key 
to  the  result  in  Iowa.  It  was  this  too,  which  characterized 
Iowa  Republicanism  throughout  the  Civil  War  and  the 
Reconstruction  period.  Organization  in  fact  both  pre- 
supposed and  necessitated  unity  of  purpose.  The  leaders 
felt  that  they  had  a  mission,  and  moved  somewhat  by  the 
spirit  of  crusaders,  they  extended  their  propaganda  into 
every  nook  and  corner  of  the  State,  making  proselytes  to 
their  sacred  cause. 

But  the  Republican  victory  would  not  be  complete  with- 
out the  accompaniment  of  its  logical  culmination,  a  prop- 
er recognition  of  the  event.  Consequently  a  series  of  rati- 
fication meetings,  love  feasts,  and  celebrations  were  held 
the  entire  State  over.  During  the  month  of  November, 
nearly  every  large  town  and  many  villages  ratified  with 
mass  meetings  which  were  characterized  by  processions, 
bands,  and  illuminations,  feasting  and  speech-making. 
One  of  the  first  of  the  large  ratifications  held  was  at  Iowa 

iwMuscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  10,  1860. 
109  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  12,  1860. 
no  Iowa  City  Republican,  November  21,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  45 

City111  on  the  10th,  and  among  others  of  considerable  in- 
terest were  those  at  Ottumwa112  on  the  llth,  at  Keokuk113 
on  the  13th,  at  Des  Moines114  on  the  15th,  and  on  the  same 
date  a  Lincoln  ball  at  Dubuque,115  a  great  meeting  at 
Muscatine116  on  the  16th,  and  another  at  Charles  City117 
on  the  21st. 

The  ratification  at  Muscatine  is  illustrative  of  these 
celebrations.  It  was  held  on  Friday  evening,  November 
16th,  after  a  week's  planning,118  and  was  an  elaborate  af- 
fair, taking  in  delegations  from  several  adjoining  coun- 
ties. At  the  appointed  time  the  city  was  astir  in  full 
dress  for  the  occasion,  residences  and  stores  all  along  the 
route  of  the  procession  being  gorgeously  decorated  with 
flags,  bunting,  portraits,  and  banners.  The  streets  were 
lined  with  cheering  thousands  to  witness  the  procession, 
long  and  stately.  Here,  as  in  the  campaign,  the  chief  at- 
traction were  the  Wide-awakes  who  received  the  Chau- 
tauqua  salutations  of  the  ladies.  The  heavens  were  made 
radiant  with  fire  works  in  advance  of  the  procession, 
while  at  the  courthouse  yard,  where  the  speaking  was  to 
take  place,  the  thunder  of  cannons  rent  the  air.  At  the 
gathering  Judge  Mason  presided,  and  enthusiasm  was  in- 
stilled into  the  throng  by  the  speeches  of  Jacob  Butler, 
William  G.  Woodward,  George  W.  Van  Home,  and  oth- 
ers. At  the  close  of  the  ceremonies  the  crowd  joined  in 
the  accustomed  "  three  cheers "  for  the  Union,  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  Laws. 

in  Iowa  City  Eepublican,  November  14,  1860. 

112  Ottumwa  Courier,  November  15,  1860. 

^KeoJculc  Gate  City,  November  14,  1860. 

114  Iowa  State  Journal,  November  19,  1860. 

us  Dubuque  Herald,  November  17,  1860. 

us  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  19,  1860. 

in  Charles  City  Intelligencer,  November  29,  1860. 

us  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  9  and  13,  1860. 


46  TEE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

At  some  places  the  Democrats  joined  in  the  jollifica- 
tions, while  at  others  opposing  factions  attempted  to 
dampen  the  ardor  by  taunting  burlesques  or  mock  rati- 
fications. An  instance  of  this  is  seen  in  the  Muscatine 
celebration,  where  Mr.  Anderson  Chambers  draped  his 
residence  in  black  and  where  transparencies  were  flung 
from  Garrettson  &  Wiley 's  store,  bearing  the  inscription : 
"Irresistible  conflict  —  Wheat  60  cents  and  going  down 
—  Exchange  5  per  cent  and  going  up '  \  At  some  of  the 
ratifications,  as  at  the  earlier  rallies  also,  fights  were  not 
uncommon  and  further  hard  feelings  were  engendered. 
Under  the  peculiar  circumstances  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  celebrations  were  not  calculated  to  assuage  the  stings 
of  defeat,  nor  to  allay  the  fears  of  the  Democrats  that  the 
Republicans  would  be  revolutionary  in  the  National  ad- 
ministration. 

That  Iowa  Eepublicans  should  rejoice  was  but  natural 
and  perfectly  proper,  for  they  had  made  large  invest- 
ments in  the  cause.  But  while  they  were  all  along  con- 
fident of  the  State,  they  were  not  prepared  for  such  sur- 
prising majorities  as  some  counties  returned,  nor  yet  for 
the  sweeping  victories  in  many  other  States.  These  so 
intoxicated  them  that  they  committed  the  common  error 
of  claiming  too  much  for  their  State  and  making  the  Re- 
publican triumph  in  the  State  seem  greater  and  more 
overwhelming  than  the  facts  warranted.  An  examination 
of  this  vote  will  reveal  a  situation  which  the  partisan  stu- 
dent should  ponder. 

In  1860  the  population  of  the  State  was  674,91s,1 19  of 
which  1,825  were  colored.  There  was  a  voting  population 
of  about  140,000  and  the  total  vote  cast  for  President  was 
128,431,  distributed  among  the  four  tickets  in  the  field  as 

us  Official  Register  for  1909-1910,  p.  808. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  47 

follows  :  Republicans,  70,409 ;  Douglas  Democracy,  55,111 ; 
Constitutional  Union,  1,763 ;  Breckinridge  Democracy, 
1,048.  It  is  seen  that  Lincoln  thus  had  a  plurality  of 
15,298,  and  a  majority  vote  of  12,387.120  The  vote  by 
counties  shows  that  the  Eepublicans  had  indeed  swept 
the  State,  and  gained  a  number  of  counties  since  the  elec- 
tion of  1856,  Lincoln  carrying  71  to  Douglas 's  24  counties. 
The  Wright  County  returns  for  some  reason  were  not 
filed  with  the  State  Department,  although  the  county  went 
Eepublican  in  1856.  To  offset  this,  one  county  (Marion) 
now  Democratic,  had  sent  in  no  returns  in  1856.121  Thus 
the  Eepublicans  carried  three-fourths  of  the  counties  of 
the  State,  winning  eight122  which  in  1856  were  Demo- 
cratic; while  the  Democrats  won  back  but  one  county 
from  the  Eepublican  column  of  1856.123  It  should  be  no- 
ticed also  that  of  the  twenty-four  Douglas  counties,  the 
election  was  quite  close  in  at  least  nine,124  being  one-third 
of  them,  while  in  the  seventy-one  Lincoln  counties  it  was 
also  close  in  nine,125  which  was  but  one-eighth  of  the  total 
number.  Then,  too,  there  were  eighteen  new  counties 
participating  in  their  first  Presidential  election.  Ten  of 
these  were  Eepublican  and  seven  Democratic,  while  in 

120  Election  Archives  for  1860. 

121  Two  counties,  Lyon  and  Osceola,  were  still  unorganized  in  1860. 

122  Des  Moines,  Jackson,  Monona,  Guthrie,  Lucas,  Pottawattamie,  Taylor, 
and  Van  Buren. 

123  Madison  County. 

124  The  nine  counties  were  as  f  ollows,  the  Douglas  vote  being  stated  first 
and  the  Lincoln  vote  second:   Adair,  44  to  42;  Calhoun,  20  to  19;  Carroll, 
26  to   25;    Clay,   13   to   8;    Lee,   2,635   to   2,618;    Marion,   1,607   to   1,508; 
O'Brien,  10  to  8;  Union,  208  to  198;  Winnebago,  25  to  24. 

125  The  nine  counties  were  as  follows,  the  Lincoln  vote  being  stated  first 
and  the  Douglas  vote  second:   Allamakee,  1,185  to  1,151;   Guthrie,  326  to 
306;    Harrison,   385   to   357;   Jackson,   1,575  to   1,504;    Jefferson,   1,462  to 
1,285;    Keokuk,   1,330   to   1,193;    Pottawattamie,  413   to   412;    Van  Buren, 
1,667  to  1,548;  Webster,  253  to  213. 


48  TEE  POLITICS   OF  IOWA 

one  (Buena  Vista)  the  twelve  votes  tied  Lincoln  and 
Douglas.  The  new  counties  which  went  Republican  did 
so  by  larger  majorities  than  those  which  went  Democratic. 

The  Democratic  strongholds  were  in  the  counties  of  Ap- 
panoose,  Davis  and  Dubuque.  Fairly  large  majorities 
were  also  secured  in  Decatur,  Fremont,  Madison,  and 
Wapello,  in  all  of  which  Douglas  had  more  votes  than  that 
of  the  combined  opposition.  In  several  of  the  close  Doug- 
las counties  there  was  a  clear  majority  —  as  in  Marion 
and  Wayne;  and,  likewise,  where  there  were  no  third 
party  votes  cast,  Douglas  had  a  majority  in  Audubon, 
Boone  (one  exception),  Calhoun,  Carroll,  Clay,  Greene, 
Union,  and  Winnebago.  The  proportionally  largest 
Douglas  vote  is  found  in  the  sparsely  settled  counties  of 
Palo  Alto,  Sac,  and  Sioux,  where  the  vote,  of  course,  was 
small.  In  Lee  and  O'Brien  counties  Douglas  won  by  a 
plurality  vote,  as  also  in  Adair,  where  he  tied  with  all 
others.126 

Lincoln  had  majorities  in  sixty-nine  counties,  in  seven- 
teen of  which  there  were  but  the  two  tickets  —  Eepub- 
lican  and  Douglas  Democracy ;  and,  like  Douglas,  in  only 
three  counties  did  Lincoln  win  by  mere  pluralities.  These 
were  Pottawattamie,  Webster,  and  Woodbury.  Only  one 
county  in  the  State  gave  all  its  votes  to  one  man,  Lincoln 
getting  the  thirty-six  votes  in  Emmett  County.  The  large 
Eepublican  vote  as  compared  to  that  of  the  Democrats 
is  seen  in  the  list  of  eighteen  counties127  giving  Lin- 
coln majorities  from  100  per  cent  up.  This  shows  the 
Eepublican  stronghold  to  have  been  in  the  northeast- 
ern part  of  the  State.  Besides  these  there  were  a  num- 

126  Adair  went:  Douglas,  44;  Lincoln,  42;  Bell,  1;  Breckenridge,  1. 

127  These  counties  were :  Blackhawk,  Cerro  Gordo,  Clayton,  Delaware,  Fay- 
ette,  Franklin,  Hamilton,  Hardin,  Henry,  Jasper,  Linn,  Louisa,  Marshall, 
Mitchell,  Montgomery,  Muscatine,  Scott,  Winnebago. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  49 

ber  of  small  counties  which  gave  Lincoln  very  large 
per  centum  majorities.128  With  such  majorities,  with 
an  increase  in  the  vote,  and  with  the  control  of  all  the 
State  offices  as  well  as  many  more  of  the  local  offices  than 
before,  and  adding  to  this  the  divided  state  of  the  Demo- 
crats, it  is  no  wonder  that  the  Republicans  regarded  the 
State  as  their  own. 

A  word  about  the  Bell-Everett  and  Breckinridge  votes 
will  suffice.  These  were  small  and  scattering,  the  1,763 
votes  of  the  former  being  distributed  in  sixty-two  coun- 
ties, and  the  1,048  of  the  latter  in  fifty-three.  There  was 
considerable  activity  in  a  few  localities,  yet  there  were  no 
real  centers  of  strength.  There  were  only  six  counties 
in  which  more  than  one  hundred  votes  were  cast  for  Bell 
and  Everett.129  The  largest  vote  polled  was  226  in  Davis 
County,  a  Douglas  stronghold.  This  was  nine  times  the 
Breckinridge  vote,  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  Douglas 
vote,  and  one  and  one-half  per  cent  of  the  Lincoln  vote. 
The  highest  Breckinridge  vote130  was  eighty-five  in  Mus- 
catine  County,  where  the  Eepublicans  had  made  great 
gains  over  the  Democrats.  This  was  five  per  cent  of  Lin- 
coln 's  vote  and  seven  per  cent  of  Douglas 's  vote,  while  it 
was  but  half  of  the  Bell-Everett  vote.  In  only  one  county 
did  a  third-party  ticket  poll  a  larger  vote  than  one  of  the 
two  leading  parties.131  And  again,  where  the  largest 
third-party  votes  appear,  we  find  that  they  were  mere 
fractions  of  the  votes  cast  by  the  Republicans  and  Doug- 

128  The  vote  in  these  counties  was :  Cherokee,  10  to  3 ;  Dickinson,  46  to  7 ; 
Grundy,  141  to  19;   Hancock,  29  to  4;  Humboldt,  55  to  8;   Kossuth,  64  to 
20 ;  Plymouth,  32  to  6 ;  and  Worth,  109  to  30. 

129  Bell-Everett  vote :   26  counties  gave  from  1  to  10 ;   17  counties  gave 
from  10  to  50;  6  counties  gave  above  100. 

iso  Breckinridge  vote:  24  counties  gave  from  1  to  10;  22  counties  gave 
from  10  to  50;  6  counties  gave  above  50. 

isi  Humboldt  county :  Lincoln,  55 ;  Breckinridge,  10 ;  Douglas,  8. 


50  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

las  Democrats.  Hence,  from  all  of  the  above  facts,  we 
may  conclude  that  these  political  factions  were  but  nega- 
tive expressions.  They  were  the  remnants  of  the  Fill- 
more  vote  of  1856  and  of  the  extreme  pro-slavery  sym- 
pathizers, extant  in  the  Republican  State  of  Iowa. 

But  now  the  question  arises,  was  this  sweeping  victory 
real  or  apparent!  Were  the  Eepublicans  right  in  esti- 
mating Iowa's  vote  and  in  believing  that  they  had  ef- 
fected a  party  landslide!  That  they  did,  is  an  idea  cur- 
rent even  to-day.  But  was  the  Eepublican  increase  rela- 
tively so  much  greater  than  the  Democratic?  To  get  at 
the  facts  in  the  case,  it  will  be  necessary  to  make  a  com- 
parison of  the  vote  of  1860  with  that  of  1856. 

In  the  election  of  1856,  the  Republicans  had  a  plurality 
over  the  Democrats  of  7,784  votes,  compared  with  a  plur- 
ality of  15,298  in  1860.  They  thus  almost  doubled  their 
plurality.  However,  both  parties  made  large  gains,  the 
Republicans  gaining  60  per  cent,  while  the  Democrats 
gained  52  per  cent  —  a  difference  of  8  per  cent.  The  Re- 
publican vote,  it  is  fair  to  assume,  was  greatly  increased 
by  winning  over  the  bulk  of  the  Fillmore  vote  of  1856, 
while  the  Democrats  looked  largely  to  migration  and  nat- 
uralization for  their  increase.  But  the  Democrats  must 
have  suffered  loss  almost  to  the  extent  of  the  Breckin- 
ridge  votes  (1,048),  since  very  few  of  those  came  from  the 
old  Fillmore  vote,  which,  however,  contributed  largely  if 
not  entirely,  to  the  Bell-Everett  vote  (1,763).  The  Re- 
publicans then  must  have  received  about  eight-ninths  of 
the  Fillmore  vote  without  losing  to  a  third  party  as  the 
Democrats  must  have  done.  This  eight-ninths  of  the 
Fillmore  vote  went  to  swell  the  Republican  majorities, 
which  was  35  per  cent  of  their  increase  since  1856. 

To  get  at  the  relative  increase  of  each  party  in  the 
State,  we  must  find  the  per  cent  increase  of  each  in  the 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  51 

different  counties.  Obviously  the  eighteen  new  counties, 
since  they  had  no  vote  in  1856,  must  be  omitted  from  the 
comparison,  which  leaves  us  seventy-seven  counties  — 
sixty-one  Republican  and  sixteen  Democratic.  Now,  there 
was  a  Republican  increase  in  all  of  the  sixty-one  Repub- 
lican counties  but  two  —  Kossuth  and  Webster132 —  while 
the  Democrats  made  gains  in  all  of  them.  The  Repub- 
lican gain  per  cent  was  greater  than  that  of  the  Demo- 
crats in  thirty-one  counties,  and  the  Democratic  gain  per 
cent  was  greater  than  that  of  the  Republicans  in  thirty 
counties.  Thus  we  see  that  in  the  Republican  counties, 
the  Democrats  were  not  hopelessly  defeated ;  on  the  con- 
trary, they  kept  pace  with  the  Republicans. 

Noting  now  the  relative  increase  in  the  sixteen  Demo- 
cratic counties,  we  find  that  the  Democrats  made  gains  in 
all  of  them;  while  the  Republicans  again  lost  in  two  — 
Adair  and  Sac.  The  Republican  gain  per  cent  however, 
was  greater  than  that  of  the  Democrats  in  eleven  coun- 
ties, while  the  Democratic  gain  per  cent  was  greater  than 
that  of  the  Republican  in  but  five  counties.  Thus  the  Re- 
publican gain  was  relatively  the  greatest  in  the  counties 
under  Democratic  control.  Here  and  in  the  new  counties 
is  where  the  difference  in  favor  of  the  Republicans  ap- 
pears. But  the  election  reveals  a  remarkable  evenness 
in  the  increase  made  by  the  two  parties  during  a  period 
of  four  years.  Of  course  the  vote  in  the  new  counties  was 
to  the  great  advantage  of  the  Republicans,  Lincoln's  to- 
tal being  810,  to  Douglas 's  361.  Hence  the  conclusion  is, 
on  comparing  the  votes  in  the  counties  which  voted  for 
President  in  both  the  elections  of  1856  and  1860,  that  the 
percentage  of  increase  was  nearly  as  great  in  the  Demo- 
cratic party  as  in  the  Republican. 

The  Republican  vote  for  the  State  and  Congressional 

!32  Kossuth  lost  56  per  cent  of  the  vote  of  1856,  and  Webster  lost  37 
per  cent. 


52  THE-  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

tickets  was  relatively  larger  than  for  the  National  ticket. 
Elijah  Sells,  for  Secretary  of  State,133  received  a  majori- 
ty of  13,670  over  John  M.  Corse.  But  while  this  was 
greater  than  Lincoln's  majority,  it  was  less  than  his 
plurality.  No  doubt  some  of  the  Breckinridge  Democrats 
and  even  Constitutional  Union  men,  since  neither  had  a 
State  ticket,  voted  for  the  Democratic  candidate ;  or  pos- 
sibly there  were  Eepublicans  who  voted  for  the  Eepub- 
lican  State  ticket,  but  not  for  the  National.  The  Con- 
gressional votes134  showed  great  Eepublican  gains,  the 
vote  in  the  First  District  being  a  real  surprise,  for  S.  E. 
Curtis  won  over  C.  C.  Cole  by  a  majority  of  3,693.  In  the 
Second  District  William  Vandever's  majority  over  Ben 
M.  Samuels  was  9,499.  This  was  a  larger  vote,  but  a 
smaller  gain  than  in  the  First  District. 

The  Eepublican  vote  reveals  a  solidarity  lacking  in  that 
of  the  Democrats.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  total  Eepub- 
lican vote  cast  for  Eepresentatives  was  about  the  same 
(35  more)  as  the  vote  for  Secretary  of  State,  while  the 
corresponding  Democratic  vote  was  510  greater.  It  must 
be  that  in  this  case  also  the  adherents  of  the  minor  parties 
fused  with  the  Democrats  to  defeat  the  Eepublican  Con- 
gressional ticket. 

All  in  all  it  was  a  complete  triumph  for  the  Eepublic- 
ans. The  State  was  now  apparently  safe  in  their  grasp. 
Yet  while  that  was  true,  they  were  soon  to  be  disturbed 
by  the  threatening  attitude  of  one  of  the  defeated  parties 
in  the  National  contest.  Graver  questions  than  manipu- 
lating conventions,  drafting  party  platforms,  organizing 

133 Vote  for  Secretary  of  State:  Elijah  Sells,  70,706;  John  M.  Corse, 
57,036. —  Election  Archives  of  1860. 

!34  Vote  for  Eepresentatives  in  Congress :  First  District :  Samuel  R.  Cur- 
tis, 33,936;  Chester  C.  Cole,  30,240.  Second  District:  William  Vandever, 
36,805;  Ben  M.  Samuels,  27,306.— Election  Archives  of  1860. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  53 

campaigns,  and  making  speeches  were  now  to  occupy  the 
attention  of  men,  and  to  test  the  strength  of  their  political 
convictions. 


CHAPTEK  III 
THE  POST-ELECTION  ISSUES  IN  IOWA 

ATTITUDE  TOWAKD  THE  SECESSION   MOVEMENT 

While  on  the  night  of  election  day  the  Eepublicans 
"went  to  bed  satisfied  with  all  the  world",135  and  after 
Lincoln's  election  was  practically  assured,  rejoiced  that 
everybody  seemed  to  be  satisfied  with  the  result  and  that 
"the  country  is  once  more  safe",136  they  little  suspected 
that  the  election  in  which  they  rejoiced  was  to  be  the  ex- 
cuse for  the  greatest  crisis  in  the  country's  history.  The 
safety  of  the  Nation  was  soon  to  be  seriously  jeopardized. 
It  is  true  that  threats  of  secession  were  made  during  the 
campaign,  conditioned  on  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  but 
in  the  main  neither  the  Eepublicans  nor  the  Democrats 
gave  them  serious  consideration. 

Even  now  the  Eepublicans  generally  treated  the  move- 
ment in  a  light  vein.137  They  had  no  fears  of  the  success 
of  such  an  attempt;  to  them  it  was  a  huge  joke.  Mr. 
James  B.  Howell,  editor  of  the  Keokuk  Gate  City,  ridi- 
culed the  threat  of  "the  fire-eaters,  the  dough-faces  and 
the  bell-tollers"  that  Lincoln's  election  would  result  in 
secession.138  He  was  not  disturbed  by  any  evil  forebod- 
ings; the  heavens  were  not,  on  the  day  after  election, 
"clothed  in  gloom  in  anticipation  of  such  an  awful  split 
in  the  Union".139  On  the  contrary,  to  the  Eepublicans 


Daily  Journal,  November  9,  1860. 

Daily  Journal,  November   10,  1860 
137  Ottumwa  Courier,  December  26,  1860. 
Gate  City,  November  6,  1860. 
Gate  City,  November  8,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  KECONSTKUCTION  PEBIOD  55 

the  election  was  "the  victory  of  freedom "  and  second 
only  in  importance  to  the  American  Revolution;  for,  it 
was  the  people's  re-affirmation  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, and  would  nationalize  freedom.140  This  was 
prophetic  of  what  was  so  soon  to  come.  Mr.  John  Mahin 
called  the  promised  South  Carolina  Convention  "all  a 
bluff".  He  had  no  fear  for  the  integrity  of  the  Union, 
since  the  conservative  masses  there  would  speedily  attend 
to  the  "demonstrative  little  faction  of  traitors ",141  The 
same  opinion  was  expressed  by  Mr.  Charles  Aldrich  of  the 
Hamilton  Freeman.142 

Nor  did  the  Republicans  seem  to  think  secession  a  great 
thing  even  if  accomplished.  Some  thought  that  the  best 
way  to  treat  South  Carolina  was  to  let  her  alone.  Mr. 
Mahin  thought  that  by  such  treatment  the  State,  "like  a 
child  in  a  pout ' ',  would  ' '  come  to  its  supper ' '.  He  advo- 
cated taking  away  Federal  privileges,  such  as  the  mails, 
courts,  and  custom  houses,  from  the  State.  Such  depriva- 
tions together  with  the  loss  of  $300,000  from  the  Na- 
tional Treasury,  as  well  as  the  loss  of  their  negroes,  who 
in  case  of  secession  would  not  be  returned  —  these  things 
the  rebellious  little  State  might  suffer  for  her  fun.  The 
only  thing  now  needed,  thought  he,  was  for  President 
Buchanan  to  say :  "  I  will  not  trouble  you ;  glad  to  see  you 
take  care  of  yourself,  hope  you  will  have  success  ",143 
Similar  sentiments  were  expressed  by  others,  even  after 

140  Ottumwa  Courier,  November  8,  1860. 

141  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  17,  1860. 

142  Hamilton  Freeman,  November  24,  1860.    ' '  The  conservative  masses  of 
the  South  —  and  they  outnumber  the  secessionists  more  than  three  to  one  — 
are  already  in  motion  and  their  wise  and  moderate  councils  seem  likely  to 
prevail.     That  the   disunion  bubble  will  only  make  a  fizzling,   spluttering, 
harmless  explosion,  seems  to  be  the  general  opinion  of  the  country  at  large." 

143  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  14,  1860. 


56  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

the  threat  had  been  carried  out  in  action.144  The  Fort 
Dodge  Republican  accepted  secession  by  saying,  "So  far 
as  South  Carolina  is  concerned  we  say  let  her  go  and 
make  her  stay".145  As  late  as  February  12th  a  corre- 
spondent to  the  Gate  City  suggested  that  there  never  was 
a  better  time  for  the  South  to  draw  off  than  then.  Said 
he :  "We  shall  be  stronger  in  1870  without  the  South  than 
with  it,  however  hard  the  separation  may  be. ' >146 

Later  the  tone  changed.  Before  the  actual  secession 
took  place  even,  as  signs  appeared  more  threatening,  the 
editors  —  those  moulders  of  public  opinion  and  spokes- 
men for  the  people  —  became  more  serious.  And,  as  at 
first  they  dismissed  the  subject  with  a  few  lines  in  jest,  or 
heaped  vituperative  rhetoric  upon  the  "fire-eaters",  they 
now  began  to  write  lengthy  articles  analyzing  the  pros 
and  cons  on  the  question  of  secession.  Naturally  the  Ee- 
publicans  sought  a  cause  for  the  threatened  secession, 
other  than  the  election  of  Lincoln.  The  feeling  was  that 
South  Carolina  had  other  and  sinister  motives,  and  that 
they  were  not  hard  to  find.  Said  Mr.  Howell :  '  '  One  ob- 
ject of  the  flurry  at  the  South  is  without  doubt,  to  fright- 
en the  North  into  a  compromise  on  the  slavery  ques- 
tion."147 Mr.  Aldrich  thought  the  object  was  the  restora- 
tion of  the  African  slave  trade.148  John  Mahin  also  held 
to  this  view  and  thought  that  the  slave  States  on  the  bor- 

144  The  Ottumwa  Courier  in  the  issue  of  December  26,  1860,  said :  ' '  That 
pestilent  little  State  or  Kingdom  of  S.  C.  has  at  last  walked  deliberately 
out  of  the  Union,  and  so  far  as  she  can  do  it,  dissolved  her  connection  with 
the  rest  of  the  world.     At  last  accounts  she  was  trying  to  find  a  substitute 
for  the  Gov't  of  Uncle  Sam,  with  a  reasonable  prospect  of  having  a  good 
time  of  it. ' ' 

145  Fort  Dodge  Eepublican,  January  1,  1861. 
wKeolcuk  Gate  City,  February  12,  1861. 
wKeolcuk  Gate  City,  November  22,  1860. 
148  Hamilton  Freeman,  December  2,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  57 

der  would  act  according  to  a  majority  vote  of  their  sister 
States  to  the  south.149 

Slavery  was  thus  regarded  as  at  the  bottom  of  seces- 
sion. None  believed  that  Lincoln's  election  was  the  real 
ground  for  the  movement.  Furthermore,  so  far  as  South 
Carolina  was  concerned,  she  cherished  disunion  senti- 
ments of  long  standing,  whose  ebullitions  at  stated  inter- 
vals would  of  course  take  place.150  The  northern  leaders 
under  the  necessity  of  putting  on  a  bold  front,  found  con- 
solation and  peace  of  mind  in  the  paling  hope  that  the 
"conservative  masses "  of  the  South  would  assert  them- 
selves and  dispel  the  "secession  bubble ".  The  abstract 
right  of  secession,  too,  was  discussed,  and  by  some  de- 
cided in  the  negative,  while  others  regarded  its  solution 
as  "  a  problem  for  the  future  to  determine '  V 51  Of  course 
along  with  the  question  of  secession,  were  discussed,  as 
we  shall  see,  the  questions  of  compromise  and  coercion. 

The  Democrats  were  divided,  though  naturally  the  vast 
majority  of  them  listened  for  the  voice  of  their  idol,  Mr. 
Douglas.  His  position  expressed  immediately  after  the 
election  was  generally  accepted  by  them  as  their  plat- 
form. The  Republicans  also  accepted  it,  and  used  it  as 
Administration-supporting  and  Union-saving  material. 
Douglas  analyzed  the  situation  in  a  letter152  written  while 
yet  at  New  Orleans,  whence  he  had  gone  for  his  last  cam- 
paign speech.  He  held  that  the  election  was  constitu- 
tional, and  that,  instead  of  its  result  being  a  cause  for  se- 
cession, it  was  but  a  pretext  of  the  disunionists  for  car- 
rying out  what  they  had  previously  determined  upon, 

149  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  15,  1860. 
iso  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  26,  1860. 
isi  Fort  Dodge  Republican,  November  21,  1860. 

152  Letter  printed  by  the  Muscatine  Daily  Journal  of  November  21,  1860, 
and  printed  by  many  other  Republican  papers. 


58  TEE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

independent  of  that  event.  He  assured  the  South  that 
they  had  nothing  to  fear  from  obnoxious  laws,  for  none 
would  be  enacted,  since  there  was  an  anti-Kepublican  ma- 
jority in  Congress.  The  only  harm  that  could  possibly 
come  to  the  South  from  that  direction  would  be  by  their 
own  withdrawal.  Douglas,  like  most  Northerners,  how- 
ever, made  the  mistake  of  thinking  that  the  threat  was  a 
mere  bluff.  He  thought  it  would  "likely  subside  when 
reason  gets  the  better  of  insane  passion".  The  Bepub- 
lican  press  everywhere  applauded  the  "Little  Giant". 

The  position,  at  this  time,  of  Dennis  A.  Mahoney,  who 
may  be  counted  with  the  pro-slavery  Democrats,  is  sig- 
nificant in  view  of  his  known  tendencies  and  later  course. 
He  thought  that  the  threat  to  dissolve  the  Union  on  ac- 
count of  Lincoln's  election  produced  little  effect,  and  re- 
garded his  election  as  harmless,  since  his  party  was  a 
minority  in  Congress.153  Later,  while  he  regarded  the 
election  of  Lincoln  as  no  just  pretext  on  the  part  of  the 
South  for  secession,  he  also  accepted  the  New  York  Her- 
ald's prophecy  that  secession  would  follow,  and  that  the 
only  remedy  was  to  remove  the  existing  causes  in  the 
North.154  His  paper  became  more  and  more  openly  sym- 
pathetic with  secession.  His  readers  were  informed  of 
"Enthusiastic  Disunion  Meetings"  in  the  South,  and  the 
successive  "Declarations  of  Independence"  were  at  least 
passively  applauded.155 

On  the  day  of  election  Mr.  Mahoney  published  his 
"Declaration  of  Principles"  and  laid  down  two  funda- 
mental Constitutional  propositions,  namely,  that  Con- 
stitutional rights  should  be  guaranteed  and  Constitution- 
al safeguards  enforced.  It  is  quite  plain  to  what  and 


Herald,  November  7,  1860. 
Herald,  November  21,  1860. 
iss  Dubuque  Herald  from  November  21st  on. 


CIVIL   WAR  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  5y 

to  whom  he  referred.  He  also  thought  that  there  were 
fundamental  questions  of  Constitutional  law  involved  in 
the  issues  between  the  Democrats  and  Republicans,  which 
should  be  determined  by  a  judicial  opinion  rather  than 
by  a  political  party.  While  he  recognized  the  right  of  a 
partisan  to  express  his  opinions  on  these  questions,  yet 
that  might  be  allowed  only  until  the  "judicial  opinion " 
should  have  been  rendered.  One  can  see  in  this  state- 
ment the  shadow  of  the  Dred  Scott  Decision,  the  parting 
of  the  ways  between  Mahoney  and  the  Douglas  Democ- 
racy. To  him,  however,  the  really  disconcerting  and  dan- 
gerous thing  was  the  divided  state  of  the  Democrats 
themselves,  both  factions  of  whom  claimed  orthodoxy  on 
opinions  of  Constitutional  law.  He  now  urged  them  to 
lay  aside  their  differences  on  the  slavery  question  and 
present  a  united  front  against  the  victorious  minority 
party. 

That  the  Eepublicans  were  really  a  minority  in  Con- 
gress was  not  the  only  encouraging  fact;  Mr.  Mahoney 
found  hope  in  the  discovery  of  a  great  difference 
between  Lincoln  and  his  party.  Two  weeks  after  the 
election,  in  an  editorial  on  "The  President-elect'7,156  he 
proceeds  to  show  that  Lincoln's  record  does  not  square 
with  the  declarations  of  his  party.  The  South  thus  has 
less  to  fear  from  the  former  than  from  the  latter.  He 
believes  that  a  majority  of  that  party  are  even  ready  "to 
break  with  Seward  &  Co.";  and,  if  in  that  event  Lincoln 
should  devote  himself  to  his  country's  good,  "posterity 
will  bless  him  for  preserving  the  Union  and  perpetuating 
the  institutions  [one  of  them  slavery]  which  found  exist- 
ence in  it,  to  posterity."  With  Lincoln,  then,  it  must  be 
either  his  country  or  his  party,  and  "he  will  elevate  the 
one  or  tear  down  and  destroy  the  other ' '.  Mahoney  thus 

Herald,  November  21,  1860. 


60  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

would  hold  Lincoln  absolutely  responsible  for  whatever 
happens,  and  tauntingly  asks  him  to  choose  as  between 
his  country  and  his  party.  In  Lincoln 's  hands,  according 
to  his  record,  the  pro-slavery  safeguards  will  be  respect- 
ed, but  not  so  with  his  party;  for  its  declarations  are 
dangerous  and,  according  to  them,  the  status  quo  would 
be  disturbed.  Two  things  are  quite  evident  here.  One 
is  that  Mr.  Mahoney  did  not  know  the  declaration  of  the 
Eepublican  platform  relative  to  domestic  slavery;  and 
the  second  is  that  so  far  as  this  exponent  of  Democracy 
was  concerned  the  Eepublican  President  could  with  im- 
punity disregard  his  party  declarations.  Mr.  Mahoney 
evidently  was  not  a  stickler  for  the  binding  effects  of 
"  party  pledges  "  upon  a  candidate. 

The  Democrats  also  discussed  the  question  of  the  right 
of  secession  and  naturally  two  views  appeared.  One  is 
the  bald  " State  Sovereignty"  view  expressed  in  a  letter 
from  "Senex"  to  the  Dubuque  Herald.157  The  other  and 
most  popular  view  confessed  faith  in  the  Jacksonian 
views  of  1832.  Said  the  State  Press  "they  [Jackson's 
views]  will  unquestionably  be  adopted  by  the  Democratic 
party  in  the  present  crisis,  as  the  chart  by  which  it  will  be 
guided. ' n58  But  when  the  Administration  showed  a  hesi- 
tancy and  uncertainty,  the  Press  like  all  the  papers 
turned  its  attention  to  the  question  of  compromise.  The 
fact  of  secession  was  conceded;159  and  the  important 
question  now  was  not  as  to  the  theory,  but  the  immediate 
need  of  reversing  the  fact. 

157  It  is  not  surprising  to  find  so  many  men,  who,  we  should  suppose, 
ought  to  know  better,  denying  the  right  of  a  sovereign  State  on  any  account 
to  separate  from  the  Union.  To  deny  this  right  is  to  deny  State  sovereignty, 
and  to  deny  State  sovereignty  is  to  deny  the  legality  of  all  Gov't  under  this 
Union  of  States". —  Dubuque  Herald,  January  13,  1861. 

iss  state  Press,  November  20,  1860. 
Press,  December  13,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  61 

THE  COMPKOMISE  MOVEMENT 

Secession  had  its  counter-movement  in  the  compromise 
proposals.  It  is  generally  regarded  that  the  masses  were 
in  favor  of  a  compromise  —  Republicans  as  well  as  Dem- 
ocrats. This  seems  to  be  an  inference  drawn  from  the 
fact  that  compromise  had  been  for  seventy  years  the  only 
known  method  applied  to  adjusting  the  differences  on 
the  slavery  question.  Further,  it  is  held  that  had  it  not 
been  for  a  few  persistent  leaders  the  breach  now  threat- 
ening would  have  been  closed  by  the  same  method;  and 
that,  if  Lincoln,  the  President-elect,  had  spoken  the  word, 
the  compromise  scheme  would  have  succeeded.  Lincoln 
did  say  the  word,  but  it  was  emphatically  against  any 
compromise;  and  thus  the  tide  was  turned,  the  compro- 
mise failed,  and  Lincoln  must  be  held  responsible  for  the 
long  and  bloody  war  which  followed.160  Mr.  Ehodes 
reaches  the  conclusion  that  Lincoln's  influence  "was  the 
most  potent  in  defeating  the  Crittenden  Compromise".161 
This  may  be  true,  yet  there  is  another  fact  that  is  too 
often  overlooked,  and  that  is  the  attitude  of  the  masses 
and  of  many  influential  men  who  acted  as  representatives 
of  the  popular  will  as  expressed  in  the  Chicago  platform 
of  1860.  Mr.  Ehodes  recognizes  this  inadvertently,  when 
he  says  that  Lincoln's  mind  was  made  up  after  studying 
with  care  the  trend  of  Northern  sentiment  with  reference 
to  compromise,  and  concludes  thus :  ' '  after  weighing  with 
care  the  considerations  of  each  side,  it  will  appear  that 
the  Republicans  and  Lincoln  may  be  justified  in  having 
refused  acceptance  of  the  compromise  measures  ".  This 
is  quite  significant,  although  a  back-door  admission  that 

leo  This  is  the  position  taken  by  our  leading  scholars  —  Ehodes,  Nicolay 
and  Hay,  Chadwick,  and  others. 

lei  See  Rhodes 's  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  158-161,  164- 
170. 


62  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Lincoln  expressed  the  will  of  his  party.  It  recognizes 
that  the  party  had  a  creed  and  that  Lincoln  was  chosen 
to  carry  it  out,  a  position  which  Iowa  Eepublicanism 
certainly  demonstrates.  Lincoln  could  not  consistent- 
ly have  taken  any  other  position,  nor  could  his  party. 
It  thus  becomes  obvious  and  a  feature  not  to  be  over- 
looked that  Lincoln  based  his  unequivocal  determina- 
tion upon  the  Chicago  platform,162  and  especially  on  ar- 
ticles 8  and  9  concerning  the  extension  of  slavery  into  the 
public  territory.163 

Let  us  turn  now  to  an  examination  of  popular  opinion 
in  Iowa.  First,  the  newspapers  may  be  taken  as  an  index 
of  the  popular  mind.  There  was  but  one  Republican 
paper,  the  Iowa  State  Register,  which  from  the  first  fa- 
vored any  form  of  a  compromise,  all  the  other  Repub- 
lican papers  opposing  it  —  some  more  positively  than 
others.  Later  several  yielded  in  a  sort  of  half -way-cove- 
nant fashion,  but  never  to  the  extent  of  surrendering  any 
of  the  vital  principles  of  their  platform.  They  invariably 
based  their  position  on  the  Chicago  platform,  looking  to 
that  as  their  rule  of  faith  and  guide  in  time  of  doubt ;  and 
especially  now  that  secession  was  threatened  and  com- 
promise suggested. 

When,  by  the  middle  of  November,  people  were  becom- 
ing desirous  of  hearing  from  the  President-elect,  and 
rumors  as  to  what  Lincoln  would  do  were  floating  about, 
the  people  of  Iowa  generally  hooted  at  the  idea  that  he 
would  issue  a  pre-inaugural  manifesto  to  allay  the  fears 
of  South  Carolina;  for  his  views  were  known,  being  re- 

162  s€e  Lincoln's  letters  of  December  11,  1860,  to  William  Kellogg;  and 
of  December  17,  1860,  to  E.  B.  Washburne. —  Mcolay  and  Hay's,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  A  History,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  259.     See  also  a  letter  to  Thurlow  Weed, 
December  17,  1860. —  Weed's  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  p.  310. 

163  See  the  Chicago  Platform  in  the  First  Three  Eepublican  Conventions, 
pp.  131-133. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  63 

corded  in  the  Douglas  debates.  And  besides,  he  had  a 
platform,  the  Chicago  declarations,  upon  which  he  was 
not  afraid  to  stand.  This  was  the  view  expressed  by  Mr. 
Mahin.164  By  the  opening  of  December,  when  there  was 
evidence  of  a  movement  in  the  East  toward  compromise, 
led  by  August  Belmont165  representing  the  commercial 
interests,  the  councils  of  the  Republican  party  became 
somewhat  divided.  This  divided  state  of  the  party,  chief- 
ly over  the  Seward  compromise  suggestions,  Mr.  Mahin 
acknowledged,  but  significantly  declared  that  all  persons 
he  had  talked  with  were  determined  not  to  yield  the  fun- 
damental points,  namely :  the  status  of  the  territories,  the 
slave-trade,  and  the  right  of  the  President-elect  to  the 
unanimous  support  of  the  whole  country  regardless  of 
party.166  On  this  point  some  people  had  grave  misgiv- 
ings; for,  if  concessions  were  made  to  the  South  on  the 
grounds  of  political  defeat,  we  "  would  cease  to  be  an 
elective  Republic",  and  the  people's  will  peaceably  ex- 
pressed at  the  ballot-box  could  no  longer  be  regarded  as 
"ultimate  authority".167  This  was  the  view  taken  by 
editor  Howell  of  the  Gate  City. 

Mr.  Howell  likewise  stood  four-square  on  the  Chicago 
platform.  At  this  same  time,  when  some  of  the  people 
would  approve  a  compromise,  he  said:  "We  feel  sure 
that  the  Republicans  in  Congress  will  assent  to  no  com- 
promise which  will  surrender  any  substantial  principle 
or  measure  contained  in  the  Chicago  platform  and  sanc- 
tioned by  the  people  in  the  election  of  Lincoln  and  Ham- 

164  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  17,  1860. 

les  Belmont 's  Lertter. —  Quoted  in  Rhodes 's  History  of  the  United  States, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  157. 

lee  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  December  4,  1860. 
i6T  Keokuk  Gate  City,  January  14,  1861. 


64  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

lin".168  Before  this  he  had  said  that  South  Carolina  was 
simply  playing  for  an  advantageous  compromise,169  and 
held  that  the  North  had  rights  in  the  Union  as  well  as  the 
South,  and  no  compromise  should  be  made  which  ignored 
these  rights.170  Thus,  when  the  Crittenden  proposals 
were  offered,  he  ridiculed  the  idea,171  declaring  that  the 
"Republicans  of  Iowa  hold  that  Mr.  Lincoln  has  been 
elected  President  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution  and 
do  not  intend,  as  a  condition  precedent  to  his  inaugura- 
tion, to  concede  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  extend- 
ing and  perpetuating  slavery  and  slave-holding  domin- 
ion".172 

The  conclusion  that  the  popular  feeling  in  the  State 
was  against  a  compromise  is  reenforced  by  expressions 
from  men  in  the  ranks,  which  show  a  firm  determination 
to  stand  by  the  principles  of  the  party.  For  example, 
Mr.  Jacob  Butler  in  his  speech  at  the  Muscatine  Ratifica- 
tion, had  counselled  all  to  stand  firm  upon  their  ground 
of  the  opposition  to  the  encroachments  of  slavery.173 
And  on  this  point,  a  subscriber  correspondent  to  the  Mus- 
catine Daily  Journal  said:  "Let  every  Republican  stand 
firm.  .  .  .  Let  us  be  prudent,  but  determined  and 
never  give  way  one  inch  to  the  present  encroachments  of 
slavery."174 

This  attitude  is  further  supported  in  the  position  tak- 
en by  the  editor  of  the  Oltumwa  Courier,  who  said  plainly 


Gate  City,  December  7,  1860. 

lea  Said  Mr.  Howell:  "One  object  of  the  flurry  at  the  South,  is  without 
doubt,  to  frighten  the  North  into  a  compromise  on  the  slavery  question."  — 
KeoTcuk  Gate  City,  November  22,  1860. 

170  KeoJcuk  Gate  City,  November  23,  1860. 

m  KeoTcuk  Gate  City,  December  7,  1860. 

172  KeoTcuk  Gate  City,  December  8,  1860. 

173  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  November  17,  1860. 

174  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  December  31,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  65 

that  he  did  not  like  the  compromise  proposals ;  to  the  con- 
trary, "it  would  be  better  to  tell  South  Carolina  plainly 
that  she  cannot  secede  ....  that  if  she  secedes, 
she  must  take  the  consequences ' '.  Then  he  significantly 
added:  "No  sensible  person  can  doubt  but  that  the  North 
is  well  nigh  unanimous  in  favor  of  the  Union,  and  they 
will  resist  ultimately  almost  to  a  man  its  disruption.  "175 
This  editor  either  gave  expression  to  a  popular  feeling 
or  was  endeavoring  to  mould  public  opinion.  In  the  light 
of  the  previously  quoted  utterances,  the  writer  inclines 
toward  the  former  explanation.  Later,  under  the  cap- 
tion, "Shall  we  compromise ' V the  same  editor  rejected 
the  compromise  method  as  the  poorest  possible  rem- 
edy for  the  existing  evils,  for  the  reason  that  all  the 
compromises  demand  concessions  to  one  section  of  the 
country.176  He,  however,  yielded  his  position  to  the  ex- 
tent that  he  favored  "compromise  and  conciliation",  but 
opposed  '  *  any  considerable  portion  of  the  people  making 
concessions  to  unreasonable  demands  of  any  other  por- 
tion", and  branded  the  various  proposed  measures  as  not 
being  fair  and  just  to  all  sections.177  This  of  course 
means  nothing  if  not  straight  opposition  to  the  compro- 
mise as  a  method  of  staying  the  secession  movement. 

But  the  Crittenden  Compromise  was  not  merely  in  di- 
rect opposition  to  the  Chicago  platform.  The  Repub- 
licans were  alert  to  the  situation  and  urged  that  it  also 
ran  counter  to  the  "principles  of  popular  sovereignty 
maintained  by  Douglas".178  It  is  at  least  interesting  to 
see  thus  early  the  Eepublican  courtship  of  the  Douglas 
Democrats.  And  again,  the  compromise  proposed  was 

175  Ottumwa  Courier,  December  19,  1860. 

176  Ottumwa  Courier,  January  16,  1861. 

177  Ottumwa  Courier,  February  20,  1861. 

Gate  City,  January  17,  1861. 


66  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

not  only  in  conflict  with  the  platform,  but  it  would  in  fact 
subvert  the  Constitution  and  reverse  the  spirit  and  the 
policy  of  the  fathers  —  Washington,  Madison,  Webster, 
and  Clay.  Its  acceptance  would  continue  our  discredit- 
able compromise  history,  and  would  perpetuate  the  pol- 
icy of  compromising  with  slavery  and  virtually  fasten  it 
upon  Mexico  and  Cuba,  all  in  the  name  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  our  boasted  land  of  liberty.179  Then,  just  before 
the  final  failure  of  the  compromise  in  Congress,  editor 
Howell  gave  his  parting  advice  to  the  Eepublicans  of 
Iowa.  Said  he:  "Republicans,  reflect  upon  this  matter 
yourselves,  and  talk  it  over  with  your  Democratic  neigh- 
bors. Surely  the  people  of  our  country  cannot  be  so  sunk 
in  ignorance  and  so  debased  in  character  as  to  consent  to 
amend  the  Constitution  of  our  fathers  in  behalf  of  slav- 
ery extension  and  perpetuation".180 

Iowa  Democrats  generally  were  inclined  towards  a 
compromise.  They  expressed  disappointment  that  the 
"conservative  element  "  in  the  South,  of  which  they 
boasted  and  from  whom  they  expected  much,  should  not 
put  up  a  stubborn  fight  against  secession.181  To  their 
minds  the  South  had  little  cause  for  "nullification",  ex- 
cept that  the  Eepublicans  had  set  the  example  in  repudi- 
ating the  Fugitive  Slave  Law;  but,  as  Mr.  King,  editor 
of  the  Muscatine  Daily  Review,  said,  "two  wrongs  can- 
not make  a  right".182  As  typical  of  the  Democratic  mi- 
nority Mr.  King  relieved  himself  from  any  responsibility 
by  charging  the  whole  agitated  condition  of  the  country 
to  the  corruption  in  public  offices183  —  which  of  course 


Gate  City,  January  17,  1861. 

Gate  City,  February  21,  1861. 
isi  Muscatine  Daily  Review,  November  15,  1860. 
182  Muscatine  Daily  Review,  November  17,  1860. 
iss  Muscatine  Daily  Review,  November  13,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  67 

meant  Kepublican  offices.  The  Republicans  were  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  distracted  state  of  affairs;  it  was  all  a 
result  of  the  inevitable  logic  of  the  speeches  of  such  men 
as  Sumner,  Beecher,  Emerson,  and  "other  Abolitionists" 
who  preached  the  doctrine  of  "Disunion  Better  Than 
Slavery".184  The  prophetic  editor  of  the  Iowa  State 
Journal  saw  clearly  the  end  of  the  Eepublic,  declaring 
that  one  month  of  Lincoln's  declared  policy  would  array 
the  fifteen  slave  States  into  a  solid  phalanx  against  the 
government.185  He  was  greatly  humbled  at  the  thought 
that  the  Old  World  would  point  the  finger  of  ridicule  at 
the  failure  of  self-government  in  America.  This  apostle 
of  non-resistance  also  washed  his  hands  from  all  blame ; 
he  "could  but  wait  and  hope,  though  with  a  faint 
heart.  "186 

Mr.  Mahoney,  as  we  should  expect,  recommended  con- 
cessions on  the  part  of  the  North.  This  section,  he 
thought,  should  retrace  its  steps  and  repeal  all  obnoxious 
legislation.187  The  National  Democratic  Club  of  Dubuque 
passed  resolutions  on  the  "state  of  the  country",188 
which  were  decidedly  Southern  in  tone.  They  justified 
the  States  in  the  preparations  they  were  making  for  their 
own  safety,  and  while  they  lamented  that  the  "idea  of  the 
dissolution  of  the  Union  had  become  fixed",  yet  they  bade 
the  South  God-speed  in  "their  rising  above  party  spirit 
to  meet  the  question  like  men".  Mahoney  could  not  swal- 
low this,  and  took  issue  with  these  sentiments.189  He, 
however,  expressed  the  hope  that  the  Eepublicans  would 

184  Iowa  State  Journal,  August  25,  1860. 
184/owa  State  Journal,  December  8,  1860. 
iss  Iowa  State  Journal,  December  8,  1860. 
is?  Dubuque  Herald,  November  21,  1860. 
iss  Dubuque  Herald,  November  28,  1860. 
189  Dubuque  Herald,  December  6,  1860. 


68  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

establish  a  constitutional  slavery  line,  dividing  slave  and 
free  territory,  for  the  South,  he  held,  is  just  as  fully 
entitled  to  the  territories  as  the  Republicans.  He  then 
lays  down  four  propositions,  which  he  calls  upon  all 
to  concede  to  the  South:  (1)  the  regulation  of  their 
own  domestic  affairs  without  interference;  (2)  the  en- 
forcement of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  in  the  North;  (3) 
the  Southerners  to  have  the  right  to  take  their  slaves 
with  them  anywhere  on  business;  (4)  Southern  people  to 
have  the  right  to  emigrate  with  their  slave  property.190 
The  Iowa  Democracy  was  distinctly  a  Douglas  democ- 
racy, and  therefore  this  program  may  be  taken  as  accept- 
able to  them. 

It  is  important  to  note,  further,  the  attitude  of  the  Re- 
publicans of  Iowa  as  seen  in  the  position  taken  and  the 
part  played  by  her  representatives  in  Congress  —  all  Re- 
publicans.191 Senator  Grimes  believed  that  the  secession 
of  one  or  more  States  was  inevitable,  but  that  there  would 
be  no  yielding  of  party  principles.  Said  he,  '  '  Everybody 
seems  firmly  resolved  to  adhere  to  his  proposed  prin- 
ciples and  course  of  action  ",192  If  this  meant  anything, 
it  meant  that  the  majority  at  least  were  adhering  to  the 
platform  announced,  and  that  a  compromise  at  that  time 
seemed  very  doubtful.  This  was  before  the  President- 
elect gave  expression  to  his  wishes.  A  little  later  Mr. 
Grimes,  again  writing,  speaks  of  "much  talk  of  all  sorts- 
of  compromises,  but  there  is  not  the  slightest  possibility 
that  anything  will  be  done".193 


Herald,  December  9,  1860. 

i9i  The  writer  is  cognizant  of  the  fact  that  this  is  not  always  a  safe 
criterion. 

i»2  Letter  to  Mrs.  Grimes,  December  5,  1860.  —  Salter's  Life  of  J  ernes 
W.  Grimes,  p.  131. 

i»3  Letter  to  Mrs.  Grimes,  December  16,  1860.  —  Salter's  Life  of  James 
W.  Grimes,  p.  132. 


CIVIL   WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  59 

Iowa  was  well  represented  on  the  two  great  compro- 
mise committees,  Mr.  Grimes  being  on  the  Committee  of 
Thirteen194  in  the  Senate,  and  Mr.  Samuel  E.  Curtis  on 
the  House  Committee  of  Thirty- three.195  In  each  case 
these  two  men  stood  out  in  their  respective  committees 
and  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  against  any  compromise. 
Said  Mr.  Grimes  later  to  a  committee  of  his  fellow  towns- 
men, upon  another  occasion,  "I  have  sought  to  give  ex- 
pression by  my  votes  to  what  I  believe  to  be  the  opinions 
of  the  people  of  the  State  ",196  which  action,  however,  was 
also  based  on  his  own  conviction.  The  statement  was  in 
reference  to  all  of  his  votes  in  the  Senate.  Mr.  Grimes 's 
assertion  is  supported  by  his  action  on  the  Committee  of 
Thirteen,197  where  he  uniformly  voted  against  the  propo- 
sitions for  slavery  extension,  thus  upholding  the  chief 
tenet  of  his  party.  The  votes  of  Mr.  Curtis  in  the  House 
reveal  the  same  position. 

There  is  little  doubt  but  that  Mr.  Seward  was  waver- 
ing between  December  1st  and  December  20th,  and  that 
he  might  have  yielded  if,  as  Mr.  Ehodes  says,  "he  had  not 
been  restrained  by  the  unequivocal  declaration  of  Lin- 
colnM.198  This  we  may  grant,  and  the  fact  still  remains 
that  "unequivocal  declarations "  had  before  been  made, 
both  in  the  Chicago  platform  to  which  Mr.  Lincoln  point- 
ed as  his  authority,  and  by  leading  men,  and  also  by  the 
press  of  the  North-west.  This  is  especially  true  as  to 

is*  Congressional  Globe,  2nd  Session,  36th  Congress,  p.  158. 

195  Congressional  Globe,  2nd  Session,  36th  Congress,  p.  22. 

196  Letter  of  August  17,  1861,  to  J.  H.  Gear  and  others,  in  response  to  an 
invitation  to  address  the  citizens  of  Burlington  —  his  home. —  Salter  's  Life 
of  James  W.  Grimes,  p.  148. 

197  See  Journal  of  Committee  of  Thirteen. 

198  Rhodes 's  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  157. 


70  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Iowa.  It  was  an  Iowa  man199  that  had  the  largest  part  in 
writing  the  Chicago  platform  which  lowans  looked  to  as 
their  guide  in  faith  and  their  rule  of  practice.  Neverthe- 
less, with  reference  to  Mr.  Grimes 's  attitude,  in  the  Com- 
mittee of  Thirteen,  toward  the  Crittenden  proposals,  Mr. 
Ehodes  goes  on  to  say:  "What  would  have  been  the 
course  of  Grimes  and  Doolittle200  is  not  so  clear;  but  if 
the  plan  had  been  modified,  and  if  the  altered  proposi- 
tions had  been  urged  by  Lincoln  and  championed  by  Sew- 
ard,  it  is  a  fair  presumption  that  neither  Grimes  nor  Doo- 
little would  have  taken  the  responsibility  of  defeating 
such  a  compromise.  "201  Local  conditions  and  the  utter- 
ances of  Grimes  all  along  seem  to  make  such  a  conclusion 
doubtful,  to  say  the  least. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  Committee  of  Thirteen,  Mr.  Grimes 
voted  for  these  two  propositions :  (1)  that  Congress  shall 
pass  no  law  interfering  with  the  domestic  institutions  of 
any  State,  and  (2)  that  States  should  speedily  modify 
their  laws  so  as  not  to  conflict  with  the  Constitution  or 
any  law.  This,  however,  was  not  a  departure  from  the 
Chicago  platform;  it  was  sound  Republican  doctrine. 
But  Mr.  Grimes,  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Kirkwood,202 
credits  himself  with  going  further,  saying  that  in  the  com- 
mittee he  had  voted  to  admit  Kansas  under  the  Wyan- 

199  Mir.  John  A.  Kasson  of  Des  Moines,  member  of  the  Committee  on  Reso- 
lutions.    Horace  Greeley  said :  ' '  That  the  platform  presented  is  so  generally 
satisfactory  as  it  has  proved,  is  eminently  due  to  John  A.  Kasson,  of  Iowa, 
whose  efforts  to  reconcile  differences  and  secure  the  largest  liberty  of  senti- 
ment consistent  with  fidelity  to  Republican  principles,  were  most  effective 
and  untiring. ' ' —  New  York  Tribune,  May  22,  1860.      [Mr.  Kasson  was  a 
member  of  the  sub-committee  of  five  to  draft  the  platform.] 

200  Senator  J.  E.  Doolittle  of  Wisconsin  and  a  member  of  the  Committee 
of  Thirteen. 

201  Rhodes 's  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  166,  167. 

202  Grimes  to  Kirkwood,  January  28,  1861. —  Salter  's  Life  of  James  W. 
Grimes,  p.  137. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  71 

dotte  Constitution,  and  then  to  admit  the  remaining  pub- 
lic territory  as  two  States,  one  north  and  one  south  of 
the  old  Missouri  Compromise  line  of  36°  30'.  This  ob- 
viously meant  that  slavery  was  to  be  permitted  in  the 
State  on  the  south  of  that  line.203  Mr.  Grimes,  however, 
thought  that  this  "  could  have  been  adopted  without  any 
surrender  of  principle  by  anybody  or  any  section,  and 
therefore  without  any  party  and  personal  humiliation". 
There  was  room  here  for  difference  of  opinion,  but  as- 
suming that  Grimes  was  honest  in  his  belief,  he  then  was 
positive  in  his  refusal  of  any  and  all  compromises,  for  in 
the  same  letter,  when  summing  up  his  chief  objections  to 
the  Crittenden  Compromise,  he  says  "  there  are  other 
provisions  ....  wholly  inadmissible,  but,  let  them 
pass.  My  objection  is  to  any  compromise.  "204 

This  attitude  of  Iowa  Eepublicans  is  further  shown  by 
the  indifference  toward  the  Peace  Congress,  which  move- 
ment the  Democrats  of  the  State  championed.  It  was  an 
Iowa  Democrat,  Mr.  Mahoney,  who,  soon  after  the  elec- 
tion, probably  made  the  first  suggestion  for  a  "National 
Peace  Convention"  for  the  purpose  of  settling  all  the 
differences  between  the  two  sections  of  the  country.205 
However,  when  the  call  finally  went  out,  after  it  became 
morally  certain  that  the  compromise  measures  in  Con- 
gress would  fail,  and  when  the  secession  movement  was 
assuming  formidable  proportions,  it  went  from  the  legis- 
lature of  a  slave  State  —  Virginia. 

Many  Northern  people,  Republicans  as  well  as  Demo- 
crats, yielded  to  the  idea,  some  by  a  mere  passive  acqui- 
escence, others  in  the  earnest  hope  that  thus  the  ap- 
proaching crisis  might  be  averted.  Iowa  was  among  the 

203  See  Rhodes 's  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  176. 
204 gaiter's  Life  of  James  W.  Grimes,  p.  134. 
205  Dubuque  Herald,  November  21,  1860. 


72  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Northern  States  which  appointed  delegates  to  the  Wash- 
ington Peace  Congress.  Governor  Kirkwood  had  been 
importuned,  especially  by  the  Democrats,  through  peti- 
tion and  otherwise,  to  appoint  delegates.  He  finally  did 
so,  and  named  the  two  Senators,  Grimes  and  Harlan,  and 
the  two  Eepresentatives,  Curtis  and  Vandever,  to  repre- 
sent the  State.  For  these  appointments  he  was  criticized 
and  roundly  scolded  by  the  Democratic  press,  since,  "to 
know  the  sentiment  of  Iowa,  they  should  have  gone  direct 
from  Iowa".206  The  Democrats  knew  what  it  meant,  for 
other  States,  indifferent  to  the  Peace  Congress,  also  com- 
missioned their  Congressional  delegations  to  represent 
them.  But  so  far  as  Iowa  was  concerned,  the  result  would 
have  been  no  different,  unless  the  Governor  had  appoint- 
ed a  Democratic  delegation. 

The  Iowa  delegates  played  the  part  of  on-lookers  in  the 
deliberations  of  the  Peace  Congress,  Mr.  Grimes  taking 
no  part  at  all.207  In  fact  the  thorough-going  Republicans 
constituted  a  small  class  in  the  convention,  and  its  action, 
due  to  the  great  divergence  of  opinion  of  the  three  or  four 
other  factions  represented,  was  almost  wholly  negative, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there  was  a  comparatively 
large  group  of  Northerners  composed  of  Union  men  who 
were  "willing  to  concede  almost  anything  for  compro- 
mise ",208  A  compromise  plan  based  upon  the  Missouri 
line,  was  submitted  by  a  committee  but  was  decisively  de- 
feated by  a  vote  of  8  to  II.209  Iowa  voted  in  the  negative. 
Then  later,  through  juggling  in  the  convention  and  in 
committee,  the  plan  was  again  presented  and  carried 
through  by  a  minority  of  the  States  in  the  convention. 

2oe  Dubuque  Herald,  February  1,  1861. 

207  Salter  's  Life  of  James  W.  Grimes,  p.  138. 

208  Nicolay  and  Hay's,  Abraham  Lincoln,  A  History,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  231,  232. 

209  Nicolay 'and  Hay's,  Abraham  Lincoln,  A  History,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  231. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  73 

Iowa  stood  firm,  we  are  told,  but  Illinois  changed  her 
vote,  and  New  York's  vote  through  a  technicality  was 
counted  out,  while  Missouri  refrained  from  voting.  The 
whole  thing  was  a  play  of  politics.  When  these  ill-begot- 
ten compromise  resolutions  went  to  Congress,  the  House 
refused  even  to  receive  them,210  and  the  Senate  rejected 
them  by  a  vote  of  7  to  28.211  Iowa's  representatives,  in 
both  instances,  consistently  voted  against  the  idea  of  a 
compromise. 

It  would  seem  therefore,  that  in  consideration  of  the 
course  pursued  by  the  State's  representatives  at  Wash- 
ington, that  by  the  positive  expressions  of  local  leaders 
and  the  reiterated  opposition  of  the  press,  and  that  with 
a  general  endorsement  by  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party, 
we  have  a  fair  and  accurate  exposition  of  the  Republican 
will  in  Iowa.  This  was  practically  universal  against  any 
form  of  compromise,  and  that  too,  without  waiting  for  a 
sign  from  the  President-elect.  This  conclusion  is  further 
supported  by  the  fact  that  the  feeling  expressed  and  the 
action  taken  was  based  upon  the  Chicago  platform,  which 
was  definite  on  the  points  later  involved  in  the  compro- 
mise issues.  Thus  the  Republicans  of  Iowa  were  not  in 
a  frame  of  mind  to  compromise ;  nor  were  they  disposed 
to  the  disruption  of  the  Union  by  peaceful  means ;  they 
must  therefore  have  been  in  readiness  for,  or  even  will- 
ing to  assist  in,  working  out  the  policy  of  coercion. 

210  Congressional  Globe,  36th  Congress,  2nd  Session,  p.  1331. 

211  Congressional  Globe,  36th  Congress,  2nd  Session,  p.  1405. 


CHAPTER  IV 
IOWA'S  DEFENCE  OF  THE  UNION 

THE  FIKST  UNION  MOVEMENTS 

We  have  seen  that  in  November  Mr.  Mahoney  suggest- 
ed a  national  convention  looking  toward  a  settlement  of 
the  difficulties  between  the  two  sections  of  the  country. 
On  December  9th  he  proposed  the  convening  of  a  dele- 
gate State  Convention212  to  take  into  consideration  the 
' '  State  of  the  Union ' '.  There  had  been  some  talk  of  con- 
vening the  State  legislature  in  extra  session  for  that  pur- 
pose, but  the  editor  of  the  Herald  doubted  the  utility  of 
such  a  move,  since  the  members  of  the  legislature  had 
been  elected  in  1859  while  the  people  were  under  pervert- 
ing political  influences  —  that  is  to  say,  the  legislature 
was  Eepublican.  A  month  later  Mr.  Mahoney  made  an- 
other appeal  for  a  State  convention  "to  enable  Iowa  to 
express  her  sentiments  and  will  on  the  state  of  the 
Union".213  Letters  from  prominent  Democrats  began  to 
appear,214  all  urging  the  same  course.  Among  these  let- 
ters was  one  from  Henry  Clay  Dean,  who  urged  the  im- 

21 2  "It  is  about  time,  in  our  opinion,  that  the  people  of  Iowa  were  taking 
into  consideration  the  State  of  the  Union,  and  deciding  whether  this  State 
prefers  to  preserve  the  Union,  by  conceding  to  the  South  its  constitutional 
rights,  or  to   dissolve  it  by  refusing  to  recognize  the  right   of  the   South. 
.     .     .     .     The  sense  of  the  people  of  Iowa  could  not  be  taken  by  calling  the 
General  Assembly  together,  for  the  members  were  elected  while  the  people 
were  under  influences   which   perverted  their  judgments.     A   more   proper 
means     ....     would  be  by  a  Convention  of  Delegates  to  a  State  Con- 
vention".—  Dubuque  Herald,  December  9,  1860. 

213  Dubuque  Heralld,  January  8,  1861. 

214  Dubuque  Herald,  January  12,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  75 

portance  of  a  compromise  and  thought  that  anything  was 
better  than  disunion;  "even  to  live  under  abolition,  the 
most  terrible  of  all  evils,  for  a  time,  is  preferable  to  dis- 
union",215 said  he.  Finally,  Mr.  Mahoney,  as  a  member 
of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Democratic  party  of 
the  State,  issued  a  call216  for  a  State  Convention  to  as- 
semble at  Iowa  City  not  later  than  February  22nd,  "for 
the  purpose  of  taking  such  action  on  the  state  of  the 
Union  as  the  crisis,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Convention, 
might  seem  to  require. ' ' 

Barring  a  few  ultra  pro-slavery  sympathizers,  both 
factions  of  the  Democracy  of  the  State  seemed  eager  to 
profess  their  love  for  the  Union,  and  urged  a  convention 
as  a  means  of  expressing  their  views  on  the  situation  and 
considering  steps  "to  save  the  Union".  But  it  is  clear 
that  even  the  larger  Douglas  party  was  beginning  to  di- 
vide on  this  issue.  Mr.  Mahoney,  although  a  Douglas 
Democrat,  was  more  conciliatory  toward  the  South  and 
thus  his  leadership  at  this  time  was  not  acceptable  to  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  party.  The  less  ardently  pro-slavery 
element  set  about  to  prevent  the  party  from  falling  into 
the  hands  of  Mahoney  and  the  ultras;  and,  wishing  to 
save  the  wreckage  of  the  party  and  at  the  same  time  put 
it  on  record  as  a  true  Union  party,  they  now  stepped  in 
at  the  helm.  This  faction  came  out  on  January  12th,  one 
day  ahead  of  Mahoney,  with  a  call217  for  a  Union  Conven- 
tion to  be  held  at  Des  Moines,  on  Thursday,  January  31st. 
The  call  was  addressed  "To  the  Democrats  and  Union 
men  of  Iowa",  and  was  signed  by  twenty-six  prominent 
men,  Mr.  James  A.  Williamson  of  Des  Moines  heading 

215  Dubuque  Herald,  January  10,  1861. 

216  Dubuque  Herald,  January  13,  1861. 

217  Iowa  State  Journal,  January  12,  1861. 


76  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

the  list.218  Mr.  Williamson  was  the  prime  mover,219 
though  he  was  ably  supported  by  such  well-known  men  as 
Martin  Van  Buren  Bennett,  Henry  C.  Eippey,  P.  Gad 
Bryan,  Chester  C.  Cole,  and  Dan  0.  Finch,  as  well  as  oth- 
ers less  conspicuous. 

The  purpose,  according  to  the  call,  was  to  give  "ex- 
pression of  their  opinions  as  to  what  is  the  just  and! 
equitable  remedy  for  the  troubles  and  dissensions  that 
are  now  distracting  and  severing  the  Union  of  the 
States".  Of  course  it  was  to  be  strictly  a  partisan  con- 
vention, although  the  call  was  shrouded  in  such  terms  as 
might  also  be  applied  to  Eepublicans,  since  it  included, 
besides  Democrats,  " patriots ",  "loyal  men"  and  "lovers 
of  the  Union".  The  call,  however,  did  not  go  to  Kepub- 
licans ;  it  was  not  a  non-partisan  affair.  The  only  refer- 
ences to  the  Eepublican  party  were  such  as  "the  party 
in  power ' '  and  i  l  Northern  fanatics ' ',  which  together  with 
the  ' '  Southern  fire-eaters ' '  they  held  responsible  for  the 
whole  trouble.  The  call,  furthermore,  closed  with  an  ad- 
monition to  "Democrats,  Union  men  and  Patriots"  to  do 
their  duty,  which  was  to  stand  by  the  country  and  the 
Constitution,  leaving  "all  evil  consequences  with  the 
party  in  power,  whose  duty  it  is  to  interpose  and  save  the 
country",  whatever  that  might  have  meant;  and,  they 
declared  that  they  would  hold  that  party  "responsible 
before  God  and  our  Country  if  they  fail  to  do  it". 

The  convention  met  and  organized  with  James  E.  Wil- 
liamson of  Warren  County  as  chairman,  and  Henry  C. 

218  The  signers  to  the  call  were :  J.  A.  Williamson,  P.  M.  Casady,  Thomas 
Cavanah,  P.  Gad  Bryan,  H.  C.  Rippey,  M.  V.  Bennett,  James  Seevers,  Wil- 
liam Tracy,  W.  W.  Webb,  B.  Eice,  Isaac  Kuhn,  T.  A.  Walker,  Timothy  Day, 
C.  D.  Bevington,  C.  C.  Cole,  I.  W.  Griffith,  Isaac  Cooper,  F.  K.  West,  D.  O. 
Finch,  T.  J.  Poteft,  C.  Beal,  I.  M.  Walker,  John  Me  Williams,  B.  C.  Ben- 
nett, and  S.  F.  Spofford. 

219 See  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series),  Vol.  VI,  p.  162. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PEEIOD  77 

Eippey  of  Winterset  and  G.  M.  Todd,  the  chairman  of 
the  Democratic  State  Central  Committee,  as  Secretaries ; 
while  Judge  L.  D.  Barnes  was  honored  with  the  post  of 
Vice  President.  The  chairman  appointed  a  committee  on 
resolutions,  consisting  of  P.  Gad  Bryan  and  B.  L.  Steel 
of  Warren  County,  James  M.  Thrift  of  Boone,  Jairus  E. 
Neal  of  Marion,  0.  D.  Russell  of  Dallas,  J.  Cilder  of 
Wright  and  three  Polk  County  representatives  —  James 
A.  Williamson,  Dan  0.  Finch  and  Phineas  M.  Cassady. 

The  resolutions  adopted  can  not  be  said  to  have  been 
the  last  will  and  testament  of  departed  leaders,  although 
they  were  the  product  of  absent  ones.  The  convention 
seems  to  have  been  animated  by  the  spirit  of  Henry  Clay 
Dean,  the  eloquent  preacher-politician  of  the  recent  cam- 
paign, and  Judge  J.  M.  Love,  recently  State  Senator  and 
now  United  States  Judge  for  the  Southern  District  of 
Iowa.  Neither  was  present.  A  letter  from  Dean  was 
read  before  the  convention  and  it  was  voted  to  have  one 
thousand  copies  printed  for  the  use  of  the  delegates.  The 
letter  was  replete  with  sentiments  of  love  for  the  Union,, 
similar  to  those  contained  in  the  call  and  such  as  were 
embodied  in  the  resolutions  adopted.  Judge  Love's  let- 
ter, written  from  his  home  at  Keokuk,  January  26th,  to 
C.  C.  Cole,  was  also  read  to  the  convention.  The  judge 
expressed  regret  that  he  could  not  be  present,  but  gave 
his  views  on  the  vital  questions  before  both  the  country 
and  the  convention.  The  burden  of  the  letter  was  oppo- 
sition to  coercion,  on  the  grounds  that  that  itself  was  dis- 
union, and  if  such  a  course  were  persisted  in  it  would 
plunge  the  Nation  into  civil  war.220  This  to  Judge  Love 
was  all  wrong;  he  would  first  exhaust  every  peaceful 
means.  But  here  he  stopped  —  just  where  the  Union 

220  Mr.  Howell  in  the  KeoTcuk  Gate  City,  February  9,  1861,  calls  this  let- 
ter ' '  a  little  covert  treason-forgiving  missile ' '. 


78  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Democrats  at  this  time  all  stopped.  They  would  assume 
no  responsibility  after  the  "peaceful  means "  should  have 
been  exhausted.  One  would  think  that  the  Democrats 
were  a  waxing  remnant  of  the  late  Constitutional  Union 
party.  The  resolutions  as  finally  adopted  came  into  the 
convention  through  a  committee  of  gentlemen  from  Keo- 
kuk  and  were  read  to  the  convention  on  behalf  of  the 
Committee  on  Eesolutions  by  Mr.  Finch.  They  were 
unanimously  adopted,  and  the  convention  voted  to  have 
them  published  with  the  proceedings,221  "in  the  Demo- 
cratic and  Union  papers  of  the  State". 

The  preamble  to  the  resolutions  sets  forth  the  causes 
culminating  in  the  secession  crisis  and  lays  down  the 
basic  principle  according  to  which  the  problem  must  be 
solved.  The  cause  is  found  to  be  the  bitter  enmity  and 
discord  anent  the  sectional  agitation  over  the  institution 
of  slavery,  all  of  which  was  aggravated  by  the  election  of 
a  sectional  president.  This  is  clear  enough  as  a  general 
statement;  but  the  next,  the  governing  principle  upon 
which  they  base  the  ten  resolves  of  the  series,  is  charac- 
teristically vague  and  indefinite.  It  is  but  a  negative  or 
passive  Constitutional  Union  party  committal  and  reads : 
"Kecognizing  in  the  existing  state  of  public  affairs,  a 
necessity  which  imperatively  demands  at  the  hands  of 
every  loyal  citizen,  the  free,  frank  and  unqualified  decla- 
ration of  his  position,  and  the  renewed  assurance  of  his 
attachment  for,  and  devotion  to  an  imperiled  Union," 
therefore,  they  would  state  their  attitude. 

They  first  record  their  cherished  love  for  the  Union 
and  deprecate  all  attempts  at  its  disruption.  As  to  se- 
cession, they  deny  such  a  right,  but  practically  excuse  it 
by  declaring  their  opposition  equally  "to  nullifica- 
tion at  the  North".  Taking  up  the  question  of  the  use  of 

221  Iowa  State  Journal,  February  1,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  79 

force,  they  admonish  the  Federal  government  to  stay  its 
hand  until  the  people  themselves  i  i  can  take  such  action  as 
our  troubles  demand ".  They  concede  the  government's 
right  to  protect  public  property,  but  not  within  the  juris- 
diction Of  a  State  unless  upon  invitation  of  its  civil  au- 
thorities. They  refer  to  the  question  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  and  call  upon  the  Northern  States  to  repeal 
their  personal  liberty  laws,  at  the  same  time  rejoicing 
that  no  such  a  law  has  ever  passed  in  Iowa.  The  Repub- 
lican party  comes  in  for  a  sharp  rebuke  in  that  it  mani- 
fests a  greater  love  for  party  unity  than  for  an  harmo- 
nious union  of  the  States.  They  furthermore  brand  the 
party  cry  "no  compromise,  no  concession "  as  the  "in- 
exorable logic  of  a  fatal  political  consistency".  Natur- 
ally their  main  thesis  is  compromise.  They  will  accept 
any  compromise  that  has  been  or  that  may  be  proposed. 
It  is  the  only  hope,  and  they  ask  that  the  question  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  people  for  a  vote.  They  declare  that  con- 
cession and  compromise  alone  can  save  the  country,  and 
that  they  "as  good  loyal  citizens  ....  will  abide 
by  and  carry  out  in  good  faith  such  just  measures  of  con- 
ciliation as  may  be  adopted,  looking  to  the  preservation 
of  the  Union,  and  the  perpetuation  of  its  countless  bless- 
ings ' '.  Such  was  the  jargon  of  threats,  criticism,  consti- 
tutional hysteria,  and  meaningless  political  vagaries  put 
out  by  this  Union  State  Convention.  It  satisfied  neither 
the  most  conservative  nor  the  most  progressive  element 
of  the  Democratic  party  and  gave  nourishment  to  further 
divisions  within  the  party. 

This  state  of  affairs  is  further  exemplified  by  the  many 
local  Union  meetings  held  in  the  principal  towns  of  the 
State.  Probably  the  most  active  Union  center  in  the 
State  was  Keokuk.  As  alluded  to  above,  the  resolutions 
passed  by  the  State  Union  meeting  came  from  Keokuk, 


80  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

where  a  week  before  they  had  been  adopted  at  a  Union 
meeting.  At  this  meeting222  Judge  Love  was  the  chief 
spokesman,  and  he  made  a  strong,  sane  speech  against 
fratricidal  war ;  but  he  was  extremely  conciliatory  to  the 
Border  States  in  order  to  hold  them  in  the  Union,  taking 
it  for  granted  that  the  States  farther  South  were  already 
out  of  the  Union.  The  Democrats  generally  by  this  time 
had  come  to  look  upon  secession  as  an  accomplished  fact, 
and  had  their  policy  been  carried  out,  there  is  little  doubt 
but  that  such  would  have  been  the  case.  There  were  also 
some  Republicans  at  this  meeting  and  one  of  them,  Gen- 
eral Bridgeman,  offered  a  resolution  which,  although  it 
might  in  general  be  taken  as  faithful  to  Eepublican  doc- 
trine and  no  doubt  was  so  meant,  nevertheless  was  really 
quite  as  vague  as  the  expressions  of  "Union"  Democrats. 
The  resolution  read:  "Resolved  that  our  Senators  and 
Representatives  in  Congress  be,  and  are  hereby  urged, 
with  all  the  earnestness  demanded  by  the  exigencies  of 
the  occasion,  to  go  to  the  utmost  limit  required  by  patriot- 
ism, or  allowed  by  principle,  in  meeting  and  agreeing  with 
all  who  are,  in  good  faith  and  integrity  of  purpose,  striv- 
ing to  preserve  the  Union  of  the  States. ' ' 

It  must  be  conceded  that  considerable  latitude  is  per- 
mitted in  the  phrase  "utmost  limit  required  by  patriot- 
ism, or  allowed  by  principle ' '.  The  same  tenor  is  seen  in 
a  resolution  offered  by  General  Bridgeman  at  a  meeting 
one  week  before,  when  he  asked  that  the  Senators  and 
Eepresentatives  in  Congress  be  urged  to  use  all  peaceable 
means  for  pacification  without  conceding  principles.22* 

Meetings  were  held  in  the  river  town  from  mid- January 
all  through  February,  and  even  in  March  after  the  com- 
promise measures  had  failed.  Nevertheless,  compromise 

222  Keokuk  Gate  City,  January  25,  1861. 

223  KeoTcuTc  Gate  City,  January  24,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  81 

was  the  burden  of  all  these  meetings  held  under  Demo- 
cratic auspices.  Some  of  the  meetings,  however,  had  in 
good  faith  been  called  non-partisan  mass-meetings,  a 
thing  very  soon  demonstrated  to  be  utterly  impossible, 
since  a  consideration  of  "the  state  of  the  Union"  must 
needs  bring  out  at  once  the  fundamental  difference  be- 
tween the  two  parties.  The  result  was  that  one  or  the 
other  element  would  dominate,  or  at  least  attempt  to  con- 
trol the  meetings.  In  fact  that  is  what  happened  at  the 
first  Union  meeting  in  Keokuk,224  when  the  Democrats 
gaining  control  passed  resolutions  which  the  Eepublicans 
present  could  not  endorse.  Eeal  Union  meetings  at  this 
stage  of  the  crisis  were  out  of  the  question.  Not  only  that, 
but  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  Democrats  themselves 
were  further  dividing.  At  a  meeting  as  late  as  March 
25th  the  Democracy  of  Keokuk  split  into  two  factions, 
conservatives  and  coercionists.225  The  former  was  led  by 
Thomas  W.  Claggett  and  Daniel  F.  Miller,  and  the  latter 
by  W.  W.  Belknap  and  H.  W.  Sample.  Mr.  Miller  had 
earlier  opposed  both  compromise  and  coercion,226  while 
Mr.  Belknap  formerly  advocated  compromise.  It  was 
evident  that  in  the  approaching  crisis  the  party  must 
break  asunder. 

Meanwhile  both  Democrats  and  Republicans  challenged 
each  other  in  their  loyalty  to  the  Union.  Humbler  advo- 
cates on  either  side  sought  the  press,  and  newspapers  con- 
tinued to  fill  space  with  lengthy  articles  from  correspond- 
ents, signed  "Union".  Only  the  contents  of  the  letters 
would  reveal  the  fact  that  one  was  "Union"227  by  com- 


Gate  City,  January  22,  1861. 

225  Keokuk  Gate  City,  March  26,  1861. 

226  Keokuk  Gate  City,  January  29,  1861. 

227  Keo~kuk  Gate  City,  January  30,  1861. 


82  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

promise  and  another  was  "Union"228  by  coercion.  The 
Democrats  were  accused  of  disloyalty  to  the  Union,229 
while  the  Republicans  were  accused  of  advocating  a 
policy  tending  toward  disunion.230  Some  of  the  ablest 
men  of  the  time  also  took  this  means  of  keeping  the 
issues  straight  before  the  public,  Senator  Grimes,  with 
his  broad  firm  grasp  of  the  situation,  being  especially 
effective  in  campaigning  by  letter.231 

Eepublican  leaders  generally  saw  little  good  in  dealing 
with  the  question  by  holding  meetings  and  passing  reso- 
lutions. And  though  they  shared  in  the  love  and  concern 
felt  for  the  country,  they  were  willing  to  bide  the  time 
till  their  party  should  come  into  power.  What  the  pol- 
icy of  the  Eepublican  administration  would  be  was, 
before  the  close  of  the  Buchanan  regime,  not  at  all 
uncertain.  Several  local  "  Union "  meetings,  however, 
were  held  by  the  Eepublicans.  One  such  meeting  of 
considerable  importance  was  held  in  Des  Moines  a  week 
before  the  great  Union  State  Convention.  It  was  an 
impromptu  meeting,  no  formal  call  having  been  made. 
At  this  meeting  resolutions  were  drawn  up  and  signed 
by  Governor  Kirkwood,  the  other  State  officers,  sev- 
eral newspaper  men,  leading  politicians  and  members 
of  the  General  Assembly  then  in  session.232  The  resolu- 

228  Keokuk  Gate  City,  February  14,  1861. 
220  Keokuk  Gate  City,  February  8,  1861. 

230  l  <  No  party  which  cannot  hold  the  Union  together  one  and  inseparable 
should  have  the  confidence  of  the  people". —  Dubuque  Herald,  January  13,. 
1861. 

231  A  letter  from  Mr.  Grimes  on  the  state  of  the  Union  appeared  at  thia 
critical  time  in  the  Keokuk  Gate  City,  February  4,  1861. 

232  The  resolutions  were  signed  by  Samuel  Kirkwood,  Amos  B.  Miller,  F. 
M.  Mills,  W.  P.  Davis,  S.  H.  Lunt,  H.  G.  Stewart,  C.  Haden,  Elijah  Sells, 
Lewis  Kinsey,  John  A.  Kasson,  Stewart  Goodrell,  J.  B.  Stewart,  P.  Melendyr 
George  Sprague,  J.  W.   Cattell,  George  G.  Wright,  N.  W.   Mills,  Thomas 
Mitchell,  J.  B.  Grinnell,  M.  L.  Morris,  L.  H.  Cutler,  J.  W.  Jones,  Thomas 
F.  Withrow,  John  Teesdale,  S.  C.  Brownell,  F.  W.  Palmer,  T.  H.  Shepard. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  33 

tions  express  belief  in  the  permanency  of  the  government 
under  the  Constitution  and  deny  even  an  implied  right  of 
secession.  The  framers  declare  an  i  l  undiminished  faith 
in  the  ability,  patriotism,  integrity  and  impartiality  of 
Hon.  Abraham  Lincoln  and  believe  that  under  his  admin- 
istration all  rights  will  be  respected  and  enforced ". 
They,  however,  favor  the  repeal  of  all  laws  conflicting 
with  the  Constitution,  or  the  rights  of  persons  or  prop- 
erty. These  resolutions  are  typical  and  orthodox.  Iowa 
Eepublicans  were  ready  to  join  in  the  inauguration  of 
their  policies.  They  were  ready  to  support  the  Adminis- 
tration about  to  be  installed  at  Washington. 

THE  POLICY  OF  COEKCION  INAUGURATED 

While  the  people  in  Iowa,  as  in  other  States,  were  thus 
discussing  the  pros  and  cons  of  the  situation,  the  crisis 
was  approaching.  As  the  election  of  Lincoln  caused  the 
first  step  to  be  taken,  and  the  failure  of  the  compromise 
measures  the  second,  the  third  step  toward  the  crisis  was 
the  inauguration  of  Lincoln  and  the  policy  of  coercion. 
It  seemed  that  prior  to  the  inauguration  the  incoming 
Eepublican  administration  and  the  outgoing  Buchanan 
regime  were  identical  in  one  particular,  namely,  each  was 
waiting  for  the  4th  of  March  —  the  former  because  it  had 
no  authority ;  the  latter  because  it  had  no  policy.  All  the 
while  during  the  period  of  hesitation  the  President-elect 
was  formulating  his  policy  and  making  up  his  cabinet. 
The  politicians  in  the  different  States  gave  assistance  in 
both,  to  the  extent  of  Mr.  Lincoln 's  encouragement.  Who 
should  compose  the  cabinet  and  what  Federal  plums 
might  be  gathered  were  queries  in  the  minds  of  many.233 
But  what  was  Iowa's  attitude  in  this  matter? 

233  Iowa  politicians  at  Lincoln 's  inauguration. —  See  Mr.  Charles  Aldrieh  's 
reminiscences  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  48. 


84  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

It  would  seem  that,  since  the  State  had  shown  such  un- 
precedented loyalty,  Iowa  should  be  considered  in  cabinet- 
making  as  well  as  in  the  formulating  of  a  policy.  On  the 
other  hand,  however,  it  would  be  good  politics  since  the 
State  was  safe  and  would  be  loyal  without  special  fa- 
vors, to  pass  Iowa  by.  The  people  generally  took  a  broad 
view  of  the  matter  and  argued  that  it  was  Mr.  Lincoln's 
right  and  privilege  to  make  his  own  cabinet.234  Iowa  had 
some  able  men,  men  fit  for  any  cabinet,  who  would  have 
accepted  the  honor.  If  the  Eepublicans  of  the  State  had 
no  candidate  and  were  not  expecting  an  appointment,  it 
is  nevertheless  true  that  they  were  interested  in  one  cab- 
inet position,  the  Postmaster-generalship,  and  had  at 
least  one  man,  Col.  Fitz  Henry  Warren,  whom  some  men- 
tioned for  the  place.  Editor  Charles  Aldrich  regarded 
Mr.  Warren  as  well  fitted  for  i  i  the  position  uppermost  in 
the  minds  of  Iowa  Eepublicans "  and  named  him  for  the 
place  in  case  Iowa  was  to  be  honored,  for  "  Warren  as  a 
soldier  in  the  Eepublican  ranks  can  hardly  be  over- 
looked ",235  The  Davenport  Gazette  had  before  this  time 
proposed  that  the  Eepublicans  vote  on  the  man  whom 
they  desired  for  Postmaster  General.236  Mr.  Warren's 
name  had  been  mentioned  before  the  election  returns  were 
in,  but  the  Ottumwa  Courier  frowned  upon  the  cabinet 
speculations  going  the  rounds  and  informed  its  readers 
that  it  had  advices  to  the  effect  that  Lincoln  had  not  yet 
decided  who  his  advisers  should  be.237  Later,  however, 
the  Courier  published  a  list  of  cabinet  possibilities,  in- 
cluding the  name  of  Fitz  Henry  Warren  among  those  for 

234  Mr.  Mahin  in  the  Muscatine  Journal,  December  4,  1860. 

235  Hamilton  Freeman,  November  17,  1860. 

236  Quoted  by  the  Muscatine  Journal,  November  12,  1860. 

237  Ottumwa  Courier,  November  22,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  85 

Postmaster  General.238  Early  in  January  a  delegation 
of  representative  men  made  a  trip  to  Springfield,  Illinois, 
to  wait  upon  the  President-elect  in  behalf  of  Mr.  War- 
ren,239 but  nothing  came  of  it. 

But  while  Iowa  Eepublicans  were  not  to  be  represented 
among  the  cabinet  "  advisers ",  they  were  called  to  fill 
other  important  places.  John  A.  Kasson  was  soon  to  be 
appointed  First  Assistant  Postmaster  General;  the  Sec- 
retary of  State,  Mr.  Sells,  was  also  the  recipient  of  a  Fed- 
eral plum;  and  later  on  an  obscure  lawyer  at  Keokuk, 
Samuel  F.  Miller,  was  appointed  by  Lincoln  to  a  seat  on 
the  Supreme  Bench.  These  were  but  a  few  of  the  many 
Federal  appointments  that  Lincoln  bestowed  upon  Iowa 
men.  In  the  meantime  Sumter  had  been  fired  upon  and 
Iowa  was  given  a  chance  to  aid  in  working  out  the  policy 
of  coercion.  lowans,  not  only  Republicans,  but  men  of  all 
political  faiths,  were  now  called  into  service. 

The  coercion  idea  did  not  appear  suddenly  as  a  fully 
developed  policy  by  which  to  deal  with  secession.  Al- 
though the  use  of  force  was  mentioned  early  in  the  crisis, 
yet  probably  most  people  thought  nothing  else  than  that 
South  Carolina  would  be  allowed  to  go.  Republican  lead- 
ers, however,  differed,  and  when  South  Carolina  called 
her  Secession  Convention  and  threatened  the  calling  out 
of  troops,  we  find  all  sorts  of  opinions  expressed.  Mr. 
Howell  seemed  to  think  that  no  one  would  disturb  the  se- 
ceding State  and  all  that  he  asked  was  that  her  Federal 
officers  should  immediately  resign.240  Yet  even  in  his  ap- 
parently indifferent  position,  one  can  see  coercion  written 

238  Ottumwa  Courier,  January    16,    1861.      "While    for    P.    M.    General, 
Gideon  Welles  of  Conn.,  Charles  Francis  Adams  of  Mass.,  and  Fitz  Henry 
Warren  of  Iowa  are  mentioned. ' ' 

239  Dubuque  Herald,  January  17,  1861. 

240  Said  Mr.  Howell:   "She   [S.  C.]   talks  as  if  she  was -to  be  forced  to 
stay  in  the  Union.    Nobody  is  going  to  disturb  her.    Let  her  Federal  officers 


86  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

between  the  lines.  To  many,  South  Carolina's  course 
looked  foolish  on  account  of  her  small  population.241 
Moreover  her  finances,  it  was  held,  would  preclude  her 
making  war,  since  her  revenue  was  but  half  as  large  as 
her  ordinary  expenses;  and  this  fact,  coupled  with  the 
handicap  of  so  large  a  black  population,  would  leave  her 
in  no  position  for  defending  herself  against  attack.242 
Thus  the  question  of  using  force  was  settled  in  terms  of 
South  Carolina's  inability  to  resist. 

But  as  the  threat  of  secession  began  to  assume  more 
determined  aspects,  we  find  the  positive  use  of  force  ad- 
vocated. The  editors,  J.  W.  and  G.  P.  Norris,  of  the  Ot- 
tumwa  Courier  thought  that  when  the  people  once  real- 
ized the  real  danger,  they  would  meet  it  firmly  and  not 
permit  South  Carolina  to  leave  the  Union.243  This,  of 
course,  meant  nothing  short  of  coercion.  In  January  Mr. 
Aldrich  of  the  Hamilton  Freeman  finally  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  "the  arbitrament  of  the  sword  can  alone 
test  the  question  of  the  strength  of  the  Constitution  ",244 
Probably  the  first  active  preparation  for  war  was  made 
at  Keokuk  where  as  early  as  November  21st  a  meeting 
was  called  to  form  an  "independent  rifle  club".245  Then 
when  Major  Anderson  made  his  Successful  removal  to 
Fort  Sumter  all  Iowa  rejoiced  and  participated  in  the 
general  movement  to  organize  volunteer  companies. 

put  their  resignations  into  the  hands  of  the  general  Government.  There  will 
be  forty  applications  for  every  place." — Keokuk  Gate  City,  November  16, 
1860. 

241  Keokuk  Gate  City,  November  19,  1860. 

242  Keokuk  Gate  City,  December  12,  1860. 

243  Said  the  editors :  ' '  The  American  people  debate  long  before  employing 
force  against  S.  C.,  but  they  will  not  permit  her  to  leave  the  Union. ' ' —  Ot- 
tumwa  Courier,  December  6,  1860. 

244  Hamilton  Freeman,  January  19,  1861. 

245  Keokuk  Gate  City,  November  21,  1860. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  QJ 

* '  We  regard  the  movement ' ',  said  Mr.  Howell,  "  as  in  the 
right  direction,  decidedly/'246  Two  weeks  later  the  City 
Guards  of  Ottumwa  were  among  those  that  declared 
themselves  ready  to  battle  for  the  support  of  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  upholding  and  enforcement  of  the  laws.247 
"Jeff"  Davis 's  alleged  threat  to  " treat  the  North  to 
Southern  powder  and  steel"  amused  the  people  and 
brought  forth  sarcastic  rejoinders,248  but,  as  the  signs  be- 
came earnest,  the  slogan  "In  Peace  Prepare  for  War"249 
was  popularly  discussed.  The  Eepublicans  were  by  this 
time  practically  a  unit  on  the  policy  of  coercion  even  be- 
fore the  Ft.  Sumter  attack. 

Democrats  also  hinted  at  the  use  of  force.  As  far  back 
as  December  the  State  Press  advocated  giving  the  Presi- 
dent "doubtful  powers "  as  a  last  effort  to  save  the  coun- 
try from  disunion,  and  the  employing  of  force  if  neces- 
sary.250 But  (as  if  anticipating  the  famous  July  Beso- 
lutions  of  Congress)  the  Democrats  who  acceded  to  the 
use  of  force  as  a  last  resort,  pointed  out  that  the  war 
should  be  a  war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union^  only. 
In  January  Mr.  Babbitt  of  the  Council  Bluffs  Bugle 
thought  that  South  Carolina  should  be  allowed  to  go  in 
peace,  but  should  she  attempt  to  seize  public  property  in 
so  doing,  then,  said  he,  "meet  her  with  force,  and  defend 
and  hold  it".251  The  testing  time  for  Democrats,  how- 
ever, was  yet  to  come.  D.  A.  Mahoney  saw  in  Lincoln's 
policy  a  recognition  of  the  theory  of  the  "Irrepressible 
Conflict "  between  the  labor  systems  of  the  North  and  the 

246  KeolcuTc  Gate  City,  January  3,  1861. 

247  Ottumwa  Courier,  January  16,  1861. 

248  KeolcuTc  Gate  City,  February  22,  1861. 

249  Ottumwa  Courier,  March  27,  1861. 

250  state  Press,  December  13,  1860. 

251  Quoted  by  the  KeolcuTc  Gate  City,  January  17,  1861. 


gg  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

South,  and  Democrats  generally  still  held  with  him  that 
the  coercion  policy  tended  toward  a  permanent  disrup- 
tion of  the  Union.252  Then  when  Sumter  was  attacked 
demands  appeared  for  calling  anti-civil-war  meetings,253 
and  Mahoney  declared  it  "the  solemn  moment  when  the 
American  mind  should  reflect  thoughtfully,  and  when  the 
American  people  should  act  prudently,  wisely,  patriot- 
ically". This  was  all  good  and  true,  and  was  the  course 
pursued  by  the  Administration  at  Washington;  but  in 
the  mind  of  the  editor  of  the  Herald  it  meant  a  passive 
course,  puerile  and  powerless.  This  passivity  is  further 
illustrated  when  the  same  editor  said : ' '  The  precipitation 
of  the  country  into  civil  war  brings  upon  us  all,  the  sol- 
emn duty  of  rallying  our  physical  energies  and  mental 
powers  in  the  sacred  cause  of  our  country.  "254 

Fort  Sumter  was  the  tocsin  which  inaugurated  the  co- 
ercion policy.  Lincoln's  call  for  troops  was  sent  out  on 
April  15th,  requisitions  upon  the  States  being  made  first 
by  telegraph,  followed  later  by  the  formal  call.  Iowa  was 
asked  to  raise  one  regiment.  Two  days  later  Governor 
Kirkwood  issued  his  now  famous  proclamation255  for 
troops.  They  were  to  be  in  rendezvous  at  Keokuk  by  May 
20th.  The  response  was  as  overwhelming  as  the  call  had 
been  sudden,  and  tenders  were  made  far  in  excess  of  the 
requisition.  Three  times  this  number  were  ready,  we  are 
told,  and  " would  have  liked  the  chance  to  go".256 

All  Iowa  became  a  bristling  camp.  No  longer  could  the 
passive  Unionists  control  the  situation;  mild  resolutions 

252  Dubuque  Herald,  March  23,  1861. 
*™  Dubuque  Herald,  April  13,  1861. 

254  Dubuque  Herald,  April  13,  1861. 

255  Shambaugh  's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa, 
Vol.  II,  p.  469. 

256  Ottumwa  Courier,  April  16,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  89 

and  compromise  meetings  gave  place  to  war  meetings 
and  military  drills,  all  regardless  of  party.  The  meeting 
at  Ottumwa  on  April  23rd  is  illustrative  of  what  was  go- 
ing on.  The  editors  of  the  Courier  declared  that  "  since 
we  see  men  of  all  parties  in  sublime  indifference  to  the 
past,  in  view  of  the  dangers  of  the  present,  forgetting  old 
antagonisms,  and  ranging  themselves  shoulder  to  shoul- 
der under  the  'Old  Flag'  ....  we  can  no  longer 
despair  of  the  Republic  ",257  The  editors  further  ex- 
pressed pride  in  what  both  the  Democrats  and  the  Ee- 
publicans  of  the  "city"  (Ottumwa)  and  county  had  done, 
especially  in  ignoring  political  differences  and  swearing 
renewed  fealty  to  the  Union.  This  is  illustrative  of  the 
non-partisan  character  of  these  war  meetings  all  over  the 
State.  Towns  and  county  boards  were  raising  com- 
panies, equipping  them  and  offering  them  to  the  State; 
and  there  are  also  instances  of  individuals  doing  the 
same.258  Leading  capitalists  and  banks  came  to  the  res- 
cue by  advancing  funds  and  trusting  the  State  to  reim- 
burse them.  Among  these  were  Hiram  Price,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  new  State  Bank  of  Iowa,  J.  K.  Graves,  Ezekiel 
Clark,  and  William  T.  Smith.259  During  the  period  from 
August  12th  to  November  12th  this  group  of  men  main- 
tained a  rendezvous  at  Davenport,  and  several  times  kept 
military  supplies  from  being  held  for  express  charges260 
by  the  companies. 

Governor  Kirkwood,  on  his  own  authority,  finally  went 

257  Ottumwa  Courier,  April  24,  1861. 

258  Grenville   M.    Dodge    organized   a   company   at   Council    Bluffs   which 
claims  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  to  offer  its  services  to  Governor 
Kirkwood. —  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series),  Vol.  V,  p.  243. 

259  These  men  alone  advanced  $33,000  on  the  first  regiments,  Mr.  Price 
shouldering  two-thirds  of  the  amount. 

260  See  Mr.  Price's  article  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series),  Vol.  T, 
pp.  10,  11. 


90  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

so  far  as  to  permit  the  tentative  formation  of  a  second 
regiment,  partly,  no  doubt,  to  show  his  appreciation  of 
the  generous  responses,  but  also  to  be  in  readiness  for  a 
call  for  a  second  regiment  of  which  he  had  some  inkling 
and  which  he  was  expecting  any  moment.261  The  men  for 
this  regiment  were  to  come  from  those  counties  where 
they  were  already  being  raised.  Ere  long  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  third  regiment  was  begun,  and  before  the  time 
for  the  rendezvous  there  were  a  sufficient  number  of  en- 
listments to  make  up  five  additional  regiments,  which  the 
Governor  was  implored  also  to  receive.  So  enthusiastic 
were  the  enlisted  men  and  the  local  leaders  in  aiding  their 
equipment,  that  the  first  regiment  was  ready  for  the  ren- 
dezvous fully  twelve  days  before  the  time  set  by  the  proc- 
lamation. 

Now  there  were  two  grave  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
raising  of  troops  by  the  Executive:  (1)  there  was  no 
money  at  the  Governor's  disposal;  and  (2)  the  State  had 
no  efficient  military  law.  There  was  in  fact  a  third  ob- 
stacle, which  though  small,  was  nevertheless  irritating. 
It  was  the  opposition  of  a  factious  political  minority. 
The  legislature,  of  course,  was  the  only  power  with  legal 
authority  to  act ;  but  the  Governor  could  not  wait  for  ac- 
tion by  the  legislature,  and  on  the  grounds  of  an  emer- 
gency took  the  necessary  extra-legal  steps.  In  this,  as  we 
have  seen,  he  was  not  only  upheld  but  implored  to  act. 
There  were,  however,  rumblings  of  discontent,  and  the 
Governor 's  course  was  criticized  by  the  Mahoney  wing  of 
the  Douglas  party  and  by  the  remnant  of  the  "Old 
Guard  ". 

261  Shambaugh's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa, 
Vol.  II,  p.  257. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  91 

THE  EXTRA  SESSION  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE 

From  the  first  it  was  Governor  Kirkwood  's  purpose  to 
have  his  acts  legalized,  and  to  that  end  he  called  an  extra 
session  of  the  General  Assembly  to  convene  on  May  15th. 
But  no  sooner  had  the  call  gone  forth  than  the  Governor 
was  criticized  for  issuing  it.  The  opposition  charged  ex- 
travagance and  declared  that  the  legislature  was  called 
to  aid  in  the  Federal  coercion  of  free  and  independent 
States.  This  was  the  first  challenge  to  the  Administra- 
tion after  official  action  had  been  taken.  Governor  Kirk- 
wood,  therefore,  in  his  message  to  the  legislature,  was 
very  specific  in  stating  the  purpose  of  calling  the  extra 
session.  The  purpose  was,  besides  legalizing  what  had 
already  been  done,  to  render  further  aid  to  the  Federal 
government  and  to  provide  for  local  defence  on  the  south- 
ern and  western  borders  of  the  State,  already  threatened. 
He  consequently  recommended  measures  to  meet  these 
needs.262  He  argued  that  there  should  be  more  regiments 
mustered,  or  a  system  of  minute-men  organized  to  pro- 
tect the  State  from  invasion.  Iowa  needed  an  efficient 
military  law,  providing  a  staff  and  uniform  practice  in 
mustering  and  organizing  troops;  means  were  also  re- 
quired to  meet  the  extraordinary  expenses,  which  should 
be  borne  by  the  whole  State.  To  this  end  the  Governor 
urged  a  more  stringent  revenue  law  and  implored  the 
people  to  pay  taxes  cheerfully  and  honestly.  The  mes- 
sage closed  with  a  ringing  appeal  to  the  loyalty  of  the 
people,  telling  them  to  face  the  situation  squarely  and 
cautioning  them  against  being  counselled  and  directed  by 
passion  and  excitement. 

The  Governor  was  not  disappointed  in  the  General  As- 

262  Shambaugh  's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa, 
Vol.  II,  pp.  259-261. 


92  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

sembly,  for,  in  a  session  lasting  just  thirteen  days,  they 
enacted  all  legislation  necessary  to  put  the  State  upon  a 
war  footing.  The  action  was  quite  unanimous  on  the 
main  features  of  the  war  policy,  though  party  lines  were 
quite  sharply  drawn  in  considering  the  various  details  of 
the  bills.  It  was  quite  evident,  too,  that  new  lines  of 
cleavage  were  forming  —  the  war  party  against  the  peace 
party.  This  condition  was  inevitable,  and  it  was  just  as 
certain  that  all  the  Eepublicans,  together  with  some  of 
the  Democrats,  should  constitute  the  former,  while  the 
latter  should  be  composed  entirely  of  Democrats.  It  was 
not  that  Eepublicans  did  not  desire  peace,  but  the  line  of 
division  was  on  the  method  of  securing  what  each  side 
professed  to  have  at  heart  —  the  saving  of  the  Union. 
It  seems  evident  that,  just  as  certainly  as  the  policy  of 
coercion  eventually  succeeded,  so  the  peace  policy  would 
at  that  time  have  failed,  resulting  in  permanent  disunion. 

The  peace  party  was  small,  a  mere  faction  in  the  legis- 
lature, since  the  major  part  of  the  Democrats  worked 
with  the  Eepublicans  for  the  Administration  measures. 
Moreover,  the  Eepublicans  could  have  carried  all  or  most 
of  their  measures  without  the  support  of  the  Democrats. 
The  House  stood  fifty  Eepublicans  to  thirty-six  Demo- 
crats ;  the  Senate  had  twenty-three  Eepublicans  to  twenty 
Democrats.  The  Eepublicans  were  quick  to  recognize  the 
new  alignment,  and  they  were  generous  enough  to  share 
privilege  and  position  with  their  new  allies  the  "War 
Democrats ".  To  be  sure,  in  all  this,  "good  politics" 
played  its  part. 

A  united  and  harmonious  session  was  essential  and  it 
was  partly  secured  at  the  opening  of  the  session  in  the 
organization  of  the  houses.  The  presiding  officers  and 
clerks  were  Eepublicans,  but  in  the  minor  offices  and  on 
committees  the  Democrats  were  represented  to  such  an 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  93 

extent  that  at  the  time  the  action  was  spoken  of  as  being 
entirely  non-partisan.  In  the  House  the  two  most  im- 
portant committees,  those  of  Ways  and  Means,  and  Mili- 
tary Affairs,  were  headed  by  Henry  C.  Caldwell  and  Na- 
thaniel B.  Baker,  respectively.  The  latter  committee  at 
this  time  had  especially  heavy  responsibilities,  and  was 
composed  of  three  Democrats  and  four  Eepublicans.263 
Mr.  Baker  was  not  only  the  most  popular  Democrat  in  the 
House,  but  was  probably  the  most  powerful  and  influen- 
tial member  of  the  body,  and  soon  became  recognized  as 
the  "wheel-horse"  of  the  legislature.  The  Senate  Mili- 
tary Committee  was  enlarged  by  adding  two  from  each 
party,  and  when  the  Senate  went  into  Committee  of  the 
Whole  on  the  Military  Bill,  a  Democrat,  David  S.  Wilson, 
of  Dubuque,  was  made  the  chairman.  At  an  important 
conference  on  the  same  bill,  the  conferees  from  both 
houses  were  Democrats,264  while  a  special  committee265  in 
the  Senate  was  composed  of  three  Democrats  and  two  Re- 
publicans. Many  other  instances  might  be  cited  to  show 
the  recognition  which  the  Democrats  received.  Of  course 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Democrats  in  the  Sen- 
ate were  almost  equal  in  number  to  the  Eepublicans. 

There  was  less  unanimity  however  than  the  Eepub- 
lican  press  proclaimed,  and  in  several  bills  and  resolu- 
tions the  traditional  differences  and  animosities  between 
the  two  parties  cropped  out.  In  the  Senate,  especially, 
there  was  a  coterie  of  filibustering  Democrats  who  in  the 
debates,  by  amendments  and  by  voting,  threw  consider- 

263  Committee    on    Military    Affairs:    N.    B.    Baker     (Dem.)    Chairman, 
Stewart  Goodsell  (Rep.),  Patrick  Robb   (Dem.),  Leander  C.  Noble   (Rep.), 
Eaeine  Kellogg  (Dem.),  George  C.  Shipman  (Rep.),  and  Reuben  A.  Moser 
(Rep.). 

264  Mr.  Baker  for  the  House  and  Mr.  Cyrus  Bussey  for  the  Senate. 

265  Committee  on  Special  Memorial  to  Congress :  Johnson,  Angle,  Bussey 
(Dem.),  Rankin,  and  Davis  (Rep.). 


94  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

able  obstruction  in  the  way  of  the  Kepublican  war  pro- 
gram.266 In  some  instances  they  mustered  sufficient 
strength  to  tie  or  even  to  defeat  a  measure.  Some  of 
these  maneuvers  were  of  sufficient  importance  to  require 
further  notice. 

The  first  important  act  of  the  legislature  after  the 
Governor's  message  had  been  received,  was  the  adoption 
of  a  resolution  which  was  nothing  else  than  the  pledging 
of  the  State  to  carry  out  his  policy  of  coercion.  The  reso- 
lution267 was  offered  in  the  House  on  May  16th  and  passed 
without  a  dissenting  vote.268  It  went  to  the  Senate  the 
next  day  and  after  a  slight  amendment,269  passed,  though 
the  Senate  Journal  does  not  indicate  what  the  vote  was.270 
Both  houses  now  set  to  work  to  carry  out  the  resolution 
in  acts  preparing  for  defense  and  amending  the  military 
laws  of  the  State.  In  the  Senate  a  bill  was  introduced, 

266  This  group  of  Democrats  was  composed  of  Gideon  S.  Bailey,  John  A. 
Johnson,  Nathan  Udell,  Jairus  E.  Neal,  H.  H.  Williams,  Joseph  Mann,  Har- 
vey W.  English,  Valentine  Buechel,  and  William  E.  Taylor. 

267  < '  Whereas,  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  appealed  to  all  loyal 
citizens  to  favor,  facilitate  and  aid  the  effort  to  maintain  the  honor,  the 
integrity  and  the  existence  of  the  National  Union,  suppress  treason  and  re- 
bellion against  the  general  government, 

"Therefore,  be  it  resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives  (The  Senate 
concurring  therein)  that  the  faith,  credit  and  resources  of  the  State  of  Iowa, 
both  in  men  and  money,  are  hereby  irrevocably  pledged  to  any  amount  and 
to  every  extent  which  the  Government  may  constitutionally  demand  to  sup- 
press treason,  subdue  rebellion,  enforce  the  laws,  protect  the  lives  and  prop- 
erty of  loyal  citizens,  and  maintain  inviolate  the  Constitution  and  Sover- 
eignty of  the  nation. 

"Resolved,  that  the  Governor  and  Secretary  of  State  be  and  they  are 
hereby  authorized  to  forward  a  certified  copy  of  these  Resolutions  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States. ' ' 

268  House  Journal,  1861,  p.  15. 

269  Mr.    Bailey   moved  to   amend  by  inserting  the   word   constitutionally 
before  the  word  * '  demand ' '  in  the  second  paragraph.     The  amendment  was 
adopted.    See  above  note  267. 

270  Senate  Journal,  1861,  p.  18. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  95 

authorizing  the  Governor  to  purchase  arms,  clothing,  and 
necessary  supplies,  and  providing  means  to  pay  for 
them.  At  once  the  reactionary,  John  A.  Johnson,  inter- 
posed with  an  amendment  providing  that  the  equipment 
should  be  used  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  repel  an  ac- 
tual invasion  of  the  State  or  to  suppress  insurrection. 
The  amendment  was  decisively  defeated,271  and  Mr.  Neal 
tried  his  hand  on  the  same  point,  wording  it  differently. 
Before  a  vote  was  taken,  Mr.  Palmer  (Democrat)  tried  to 
amend  NeaPs  amendment  by  the  following:  "Or  suppress 
rebellion  in  this  or  any  other  State  of  the  United  States 
under  any  order  constitutionally  made  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States."  Both  of  these  amendments  were 
overwhelmingly  defeated  and  Mr.  Neal  tried  another 
tack.  He  wanted  vouchers  accompanying  all  expense 
bills  for  army  provisions,  the  same  to  be  authenticated 
by  the  person  furnishing  such  property.  This  proposi- 
tion was  also  defeated,  though  by  a  reduced  majority, 
the  vote  being  fourteen  for  and  twenty-six  against.  The 
affirmative  voters  were  all  Democrats,  including  Mr. 
Cyrus  Bussey,  who  was  foremost  in  the  military  prepara- 
tions. Again,  others  made  attacks  on  the  same  bill. 
John  F.  Duncombe  would  amend  by  limiting  the  entire 
expenditure  to  $250,000.  This  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of 
sixteen  to  twenty- two,272  with  two  Democrats  refusing  to 
vote,  while  two  others  voted  with  the  majority. 

In  the  House  a  bill  entitled  "An  Act  to  amend  the 
Militia  Laws  of  the  State  of  Iowa"  was  introduced273  and 
adopted  by  a  vote  of  eighty  without  a  dissenting  voice.274 

271  Senate  Journal,  1861,  p.   25.     The  vote  was  thirty-two  to  six.     Mr. 
Udell,  one  of  the  ultras,  refrained  from  voting. 

272  Senate  Journal,  1861,  p.  26. 

273  House  Journal,  1861,  p.  24. 

274  House  Journal,  1861,  p.  81. 


96  TEE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

There  were  six  Eepresentatives  absent  or  not  voting,  and 
among  them  but  one  Democrat.  Just  before  the  final 
vote,  however,  Mr.  T.  W.  Claggett  tried  to  amend  the  bill 
so  as  to  reduce  the  Governor's  power  somewhat,  and  was 
supported  in  this  effort  by  eight  Democrats  and  two  Ee- 
publicans.  The  House  was  relatively  more  aggressive 
than  the  Senate.  There  was,  however,  a  group  of  con- 
servative Democrats,  among  the  most  conspicuous  being, 
Thomas  W.  Claggett,  Martin  V.  B.  Bennett,  Hartley 
Bracewell,  E.  S.  McCullough  of  Lee  County,  Benjamin 
McCullough  of  Jackson  County,  Cornelius  Beal,  Charles 
Faulk,  and  Francis  A.  Gniffke. 

When  the  House  Militia  Bill  came  into  the  Senate  it 
was  attacked  by  L.  L.  Ainsworth,  Nathan  Udell,  H.  C. 
Angle,  and  W.  E.  Taylor.  They  attempted  to  postpone 
the  time  when  it  should  go  into  effect,  to  limit  the  num- 
ber of  regiments  to  be  raised,  to  reduce  the  salaries  stip- 
ulated, and  to  negative  the  provision  for  covering  the 
cost  at  State  expense.  On  some  of  these  propositions  the 
conservative  Democrats  won  over  as  much  as  two-thirds 
of  their  full  party  strength.  But  the  Senate  had  some 
staunch  "War  Democrats ",  such  as  Bussey,  Pusey,  Cool- 
baugh,  Gray,  Green,  Patterson,  Wilson,  and  Trumbull, 
who  invariably  voted  with  the  Eepublicans  on  the  points 
at  issue. 

The  party  spirit  in  the  Senate  is  amusingly  shown  in 
the  wrangle  over  the  provision  for  regimental  chaplains. 
When  it  was  proposed  to  fix  the  salary  for  chaplain  at 
the  exorbitant  sum  of  $30  a  month,275  Gideon  Bailey 
would  accept  it  on  condition  "that  no  political  preacher 
be  appointed  chaplain'7,  an  amendment  which  lacked  but 
two  votes  of  passing.  The  original  motion,  however,  was 
also  defeated.  Later,  Mr.  Bussey  sought  to  make  pro- 

275  Senate  Journal,  1861,  p.  36. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  97 

vision  for  a  chaplain  by  an  amendment  to  the  section  for 
regimental  musicians,  which  Mr.  Udell  again  would 
amend  by  adding  a  form  of  prayer,276  to  be  imposed  upon 
the  chaplain.  Eleven  Democrats  actually  voted  for  the 
prayer  amendment.  It  was  finally  provided  that  chap- 
lains should  be  chosen  by  the  companies  composing  the 
regiment. 

The  House  Militia  Bill  after  several  slight  amendments 
was  adopted  in  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  thirty  to  eight. 
The  House,  however,  did  not  concur  in  the  Senate  amend- 
ments and  the  bill  was  sent  into  conference.  It  was  then 
agreed  upon  by  both  houses,  but  in  the  Senate  by  a  re- 
duced majority,  there  being  twelve  Democrats  who  finally 
refused  to  vote  for  it. 

Party  spirit  also  appeared  in  the  question  of  supply- 
ing the  Senators  with  newspapers,  the  Democrats  gen- 
erally wishing  a  large  supply  —  all  the  way  from  five  to 
thirty  papers  for  each  member.  On  Mr.  Johnson 's  mo- 
tion making  the  number  twenty,  Senator  A.  F.  Brown 
(Republican)  amended  by  requiring  that  the  papers  be 
of  approved  loyalty,277  whereupon  Johnson  amended  by 
leaving  the  individual  Senators  to  be  the  judges  of  their 
own  papers.278  Both  of  these  amendments  were  prompt- 

276  Mr.  Udell's  amendment  read  as  follows:    "Provided  said  clergyman 
shall  incorporate  into  each  prayer  'Prepare  and  turn  O  God,  the  hearts  of 
the  rulers  and  leaders  on  both  sides  of  this  unnatural  strife  to  adopt  some 
measures  by  honorable  compromise  or  otherwise,  to  bring  this  warfare  to  an 
early  close  without  bloodshed'  ". —  Senate  Journal,  1861,  p.  37. 

277  Mr.  Brown's  amendment  read  as  follows:   "That  no  paper  shall  be 
subscribed  for  or  obtained  at  the  public  expense  under  this  resolution,  except 
such  as  are  fully  committed  to  the  maintenance  of  the  honor  and  integrity 
of  the  Government  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union." — Senate  Journal, 
1861,  p.  16. 

278  Johnson's  amendment  read  as  follows:  "That  each  Senator  be  allowed 
to  judge  for  himself  of  the  loyalty  of  the  paper  he  may  desire  to  take." — 
Senate  Journal,  1861,  p.  16. 


98  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

ly  voted  down,  and  the  Senate  finally  decided  to  supply 
each  member  with  one  paper,  and  the  choice  was  to  be 
confined  to  one  of  the  Des  Moines  papers. 

A  quite  significant  feature  of  the  work  of  this  session 
was  the  action  taken  on  the  National  issues  in  the  form 
of  resolutions.  Petitions  from  several  sections  of  the 
State  were  presented  in  both  the  House279  and  the  Sen- 
ate,280 asking  for  military  aid;  but  none  appeared  on 
either  side  of  the  great  central  question  of  the  national 
crisis.  In  other  words,  these  petitions  were  military,  not 
political ;  they  were  moreover  mainly  petitions  by  Demo- 
crats and  offered  by  Democrats  in  the  legislature. 

The  very  first  resolution  offered  in  the  Senate  was  a 
memorial  by  John  A.  Johnson,  appealing  to  Congress  to 
act  in  behalf  of  the  Union.281  It  was  committed  to  a  spe- 
cial committee  composed  of  three  Democrats  and  two 
Eepublicans.  Then  John  F.  Duncombe,  who,  it  will  be 
recalled,  was  a  Breckinridge  electoral  candidate,  offered 
a  long  series  of  resolutions.282  He  asked  that  the  general 
government  should,  while  continuing  preparations  for 
defense,  cease  active  hostilities  until  Congress  should 
have  time  to  act,  and  at  the  same  time  recommended  that 
a  National  Convention  to  settle  the  differences  be  speed- 
ily convened.  The  resolutions  opposed  a  war  for  the 
subjugation  of  the  seceded  States  as  long  as  it  was  "pos- 
sible to  affect  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the  sectional 

279  In  the  House  a  petition  from  Rev.  Henry  P.  Scholte  asked  for  arms 
for  a  military  company  at  Pella,  Marion  County ;  Washington  County  citizens 
petitioned  for  an  appropriation  for  the  support  of  families  of  volunteers; 
and  a  third  petition  concerning  military  affairs  came  from  Keokuk  County. 

280  in  the  Senate  H.  H.  Trimble  and  others  asked  for  an  appropriation  to 
arm  the  "Home  Guards"  of  Davis  County;  John  A.  McDonald  asked  the 
same  for  the  "City  Rifles"  of  Keokuk;  and  A.  Gamble  with  75  others  re- 
quested military  aid  for  Louisa  County. 

281  Senate  Journal,  1861,  pp.  7,  8. 

282  Senate  Journal,  1861,  pp.  38,  39. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  99 

differences ' ',  and  also  declared  against  the  war  becoming 
one  for  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves.  Senator  Bowen 
at  once  moved  to  table  the  resolutions,  but  the  Senate  by 
vote  of  eighteen  to  twenty-one  refused  to  do  so,  and  they 
were  sent  to  the  Committee  on  Federal  Eelations.283 

On  May  27th,  the  day  before  the  legislature  was  to  ad- 
journ, the  aforesaid  committee  reported,  presenting  both 
a  majority  and  a  minority  report.  The  majority  report 
was  signed  by  A.  F.  Brown,  George  M.  Davis,  and  J.  C. 
Hogans,  all  Republicans,  while  the  minority  report  was 
signed  by  the  only  Democrat  on  the  committee,  Joseph 
Mann.  The  latter  report  consisted  of  the  original  Dun- 
combe  resolutions,  while  the  majority  report284  was  a  co- 
ercionist  document.  It  charged  the  Southern  States  with 
an  unjustifiable  attempt  to  overthrow  the  Government 
and  declared  that  if  the  right  of  secession  were  admitted, 
it  would  inevitably  result  in  the  destruction  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government.  Three  resolves  then  followed,  favor- 
ing the  maintenance  of  the  Constitution  in  all  the  States, 
employing  the  entire  resources  of  the  nation  to  accom- 
plish that  end,  and  expressing  belief  that  the  Govern- 
ment desired  to  adjust  the  existing  sectional  difficulties. 
Finally,  the  Senate  wished  to  go  on  record  as  opposing 
an  attempt  to  settle  the  differences  on  any  other  terms 
than  an  "unconditional  submission  to  the  Constitution 
and  the  Laws  of  the  United  States ' '. 

The  Committee  on  Federal  Eelations  in  the  House  was 
differently  constituted  and  made  a  different  record.  The 
committee  was  composed  of  four  Democrats,  namely,  T. 
W.  Claggett,  S.  E.  Peet,  F.  A.  Gniffke,  and  J.  H.  William- 
son, to  one  Eepublican,  S.  B.  Eosenkrans,  with  Mr.  Clag- 
gett as  chairman.  Mr.  Williamson,  it  should  be  said,  was 

283  Senate  Journal,  1861,  pp.  39,  40. 

284  Senate  Journal,  1861,  p.  86. 


100  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  Republican,  but  the  Demo- 
crats controlled  the  committee,  as  the  results  show.  The 
committee  made  two  reports,  a  majority  and  a  minority 
report,  the  first  three  signing  the  former  and  the  last 
named  two,  the  latter. 

The  majority  report,  a  series  of  resolutions285  made 
by  Mr.  Claggett,  urged  the  saving  of  the  Union  by  com- 
promise, recommending  two  things,  namely,  a  National 
Peace  Convention  and  the  ratification  by  the  State  legis- 
lature of  the  Constitutional  amendment286  passed  by  Con- 
gress. Governor  Kirkwood  did  not  report  this  amend- 
ment nor  Lincoln's  message  to  the  legislature  until  the 
day  before  its  adjournment,  May  27th,  and  then  it  was 
with  the  recommendation  that  the  amendment  be  not  rati- 
fied.287 For  this  recommendation,  together  with  his  de- 
lay in  submitting  the  documents,  the  Governor  was  taken 
to  task.  The  minority  report  was  brief,  simply  declaring 
that  it  was  inexpedient  to  act  on  the  joint  resolution  of 
Congress.  Mr.  Caldwell  moved  a  substitute  for  the  joint 
"resolution  in  regard  to  the  National  Convention",  to  the 
effect  that  they  favor  such  convention  at  the  proper  time 
"if  it  can  be  done  with  becoming  dignity  and  without 
dishonor".  John  Edwards  moved  to  recommit  the  re- 
port and  to  add  Mr.  Caldwell  to  the  committee  (which 
would  obviously  tie  the  committee),  but  it  was  lost  and 
the  vote  on  Mr.  Claggett 's  resolution  was  ordered.  It  is 
at  this  point  the  action  of  the  House  seems  quite  singular, 

285  House  Journal,  1861,  p.  132. 

286  The  amendment  was  passed  by  Congress  on  March  2,  1861,  signed  by 
President  Buchanan  and  on  March  16th  submitted  by  President  Lincoln  to 
Governor  Kirkwood. 

287  Souse  Journal,  1861,  pp.  104,  105. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  ^gERWD',  '>  \  '>.  i  ?fti 


for  the  resolutions  were  adopted  by  a  vote  of  fifty  to 
twenty-eight.288 

The  House  Joint  Resolution  was  received  in  the  Sen- 
ate289 at  the  evening  session  of  May  28th,  and  it  was  at 
once  attacked  with  substitutes  and  amendments.  Upon 
David  S.  Wilson 's  motion  to  adopt,  James  F.  Wilson 
moved  to  strike  out  the  preamble.  Before  action  was 
taken,  Mr.  Bussey  moved  a  coercionist  preamble  as  a  sub- 
stitute, though  still  favoring  a  convention  for  amending 
the  Constitution,  "  after  the  suppression  of  the  rebel- 
lion ".  Mr.  Eankin  moved  to  adopt  this,  but  George  M. 
Davis  would  strike  out  the  provision  for  amending  the 
Constitution.  This  brought  John  A.  Johnson  to  his  feet 
with  a  substitute  preamble  almost  identical  with  the  orig- 
inal, and  James  F.  Wilson  moved  to  lay  the  whole  sub- 
ject on  the  table,  for  which  Johnson  demanded  the  yeas 
and  nays.  The  resolutions  and  all  the  amendments  were 
then  tabled  by  a  strict  party  vote  of  twenty-one  to  thir- 
teen, not  a  Democrat  voting  on  the  affirmative  nor  a  Re- 
publican on  the  negative.  Such  "War  Democrats "  as 
Bussey,  Coolbaugh,  and  Green  could  not  so  ruthlessly 
thrust  aside  a  peace  proposition.  In  the  meantime  what 
had  become  of  the  two  reports  —  majority  and  minority 
-  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Federal  Relations'?  They 
had  been  ordered  to  be  placed  on  the  calendar,  but  there 
they  remained,  and  the  Senate  refused  to  go  on  record  as 
in  any  way  endorsing  a  peace  proposition.  The  upper 
house  now  appeared  the  more  radical  of  the  two. 

In  brief  the  work  of  the  legislature  was  solely  in  sup- 
port of  the  policy  of  coercion.  Twenty-four  separate 

288  Vote  on  majority  report  —  Claggett  's  resolutions : —  Yeas  —  Demo- 
crats, 34;  Republicans,  16;  Nays  —  Democrats,  1;  Republicans,  27.  Absent 
or  not  voting  —  Democrats,  1;  Republicans,  7. —  House  Journal,  1861,  p.  135. 

2S9  Senate  Journal,  1861,  pp.  110-112. 


.102  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

acts  were  passed,  besides  four  resolutions  and  a  memo- 
rial; but  no  milk-and-water  "Union"  resolutions  were 
permitted  to  stand  upon  the  records.  Naturally,  nearly 
all  the  measures  had  to  do  with  preparations  for  war. 
The  memorial290  to  President  Lincoln  asked  that  the  Iowa 
regiments  be  constituted  a  brigade  with  a  general  of  their 
own.  One  joint  resolution  asked  that  an  arsenal  for  the 
distribution  of  arms  be  established  on  Rock  Island;291 
another  that  the  President  should  muster  a  regiment  of 
cavalry  in  Iowa;292  and  a  third  that  the  Governor  be 
authorized  to  provide  additional  clothing  and  munitions 
of  war  for  the  first  regiment.293 

The  various  military  acts  included  a  revision  of  the 
militia  law294  of  the  State,  the  organization  and  equip- 
ment of  militiamen,295  and  provision  for  the  pay  of  the 
volunteers,296  as  also  for  the  relief  of  volunteer  soldiers297 
and  for  the  support  of  the  families  of  volunteers298 —  this 
latter  support  to  come  out  of  the  county  funds.  Then 
there  was  a  general  appropriation  bill299  and  an  act  pro- 
viding for  the  appointment  of  Auditing  Commission- 
ers.300 Two  necessary  acts  were  those  providing  for  the 
.means  to  meet  the  extraordinary  expenses  which  the  vast 
military  preparations  would  entail.  By  one  act,  that  rel- 

290  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  p.  36. 

291  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  p.  35. 

292  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  p.  36. 

293  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  p.  35. 

294  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  pp.  21-25. 

295  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  pp.  25,  26. 

296  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  pp.  11,  12. 

297  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  p.  6. 

298  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  p.  31. 

299  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  pp.  7-9. 
aoo  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  pp.  9-11. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  103 

ative  to  the  Ee venue  Law,301  the  rate  of  levy  in  taxation 
was  increased,  and  by  the  second  act  the  sale  of  State 
bonds302  was  authorized  and  guaranteed  by  pledging  the 
"Revenue  and  faith  of  the  State ".  The  proceeds  of  the 
sale  were  to  be  used  for  military  purposes  and  were  not 
to  exceed  $800,000.  The  bonds  were  to  be  sold  for  coin 
only,  and  two  agents303  were  named  in  the  bill  to  conduct 
the  sales. 

To  put  this  vast  military  equipment  into  operation  and 
to  direct  it,  the  Governor's  powers  and  responsibility 
were  increased  and  many  new  offices,  military  and  semi- 
military,  were  created  to  assist  him.  It  was  in  the  choice 
of  men  and  in  the  cautious  firmness  displayed  in  launch- 
ing this  military  organization,  that  Governor  Kirkwood 
showed  himself  to  be  politic,  wise,  and  courageous.  The 
masterful  manner  in  which  he  fulfilled  his  difficult  task 
properly  won  him  a  place  among  the  great  "War  Gov- 
ernors ' '.  He  made  his  selections  without  regard  to  party 
affiliation,  being  watchful  only  of  two  points,  namely,  to 
secure  men  of  undoubted  loyalty  and  of  special  fitness  for 
the  post  to  be  filled.  Probably  no  military  position  was 
so  important  at  this  critical  juncture  as  that  of  Adjutant 
General.  For  this  post  the  Governor  singled  out  and  ap- 
pointed Nathaniel  B.  Baker,  who  had  demonstrated  his 
loyalty  as  also  his  organizing  ability  and  administrative 
efficiency  in  the  war  session  of  the  legislature.  To  Gen- 
eral Baker  is  largely  due  the  perfecting  of  the  military 
system  of  Iowa  —  in  securing  enlistments,  in  equipment, 
in  hospital  service,  in  communication  facilities,  and  in 
the  keeping  of  records.  Many  other  legislators  stepped 
into  responsible  positions  both  civil  and  military. 

301  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  p.  31. 

302  Laws  of  Iowa,  1861,  pp.  6-20. 

sos  The  State  Treasurer  and  Mr.  Maturin  L.  Fisher. 


104  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Enlistments  were  going  on  all  the  while,  and  in  the 
urgent  need  for  local  protection  and  the  larger  service  to 
the  nation,  people  almost  forgot  their  party  differences. 
With  the  State  safely  in  the  hands  of  the  Eepublicans, 
which  party  also  controlled  the  policy  at  Washington, 
Iowa  was  ready  to  ignore  party  and  to  bestow  honors 
and  to  clothe  with  authority  any  who  gave  satisfactory 
evidence  of  their  loyalty  to,  and  support  of,  the  policy  of 
coercion. 


CHAPTEB  V 
THE  POLITICAL  EEADJUSTMENT  OF  1861 

THE    QUESTION    OF    PAKTY    KEOKGANIZATION 

Now  that  war  had  actually  opened  and  the  proph- 
ecies of  the  Democrats  had  in  a  measure  been  fulfilled, 
the  adoption  of  a  policy  consistent  with  their  former  dec- 
larations was  paramount  in  the  minds  of  the  leaders. 
Since  their  declaration  of  principles  at  the  Union  Con- 
vention of  January  31st,  the  crisis  had  come,  and  as  we 
have  seen,  a  number  of  Democratic  partisans  announced 
their  support  of  the  Government  as  the  only  course  open 
to  a  loyal  citizen.  The  administration  press  of  Iowa 
skilfully  applied  the  argument  of  non-partisan  duty  to 
the  State  and  Nation,  and  it  required  no  deep  insight  to 
see  that  the  Eepublican  partisans  would,  if  possible, 
press  the  War  Democrats  who  were  in  the  service  of  the 
Government,  also  into  the  service  of  their  party. 

The  Eepublicans  seemed  to  be  too  busy  with  the  in- 
auguration of  the  military  organization  to  begin  an  early 
agitation  in  State  politics.  They  were  secure  in  their 
party  organization,  and  had  nothing  to  gain  by  prema- 
ture action.  With  the  Democrats  it  was  otherwise.  The 
leaders  beheld  a  party  on  the  verge  of  ruin  and  felt  the 
need  of  immediate  reorganization.304  Many  Democrats 
were  honestly  opposed  to  the  war,  and  if  the  war  could 
be  made  the  issue,  they  might  upon  a  Peace  platform 
swing  the  State  back  into  its  natural  orbit.  But  in  the 
matter  of  party  organization  they  were  confronted  with 
serious  difficulties. 

so*  Dubuque  Herald,  March  5,  1861. 


106  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

The  Eepublicans,  on  the  other  hand,  while  their  party 
organization  was  not  in  danger,  and  while  they  were  not 
planning  as  early  a  nominating  convention  as  usual,  did, 
however,  soon  after  the  extra  session  of  the  legisla- 
ture, announce  their  purpose  to  follow  a  partisan 
policy  in  the  coming  campaign, —  notwithstanding  the 
Democratic  aid  given  the  State  Administration,  and  their 
own  advocacy  of  non-partisan  support  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

The  call305  for  a  State  Convention  was  issued  by  Mr. 
Hoxie  on  June  5th,  providing  'for  the  convention  to  meet 
in  Des  Moines  on  Wednesday,  July  31st.  Aside  from  the 
nomination  of  a  State  ticket,  a  very  significant  feature  of 
the  call,  especially  in  the  light  of  the  course  which  the 
Eepublicans  were  then  pursuing  in  the  States  of  Illinois, 
Indiana,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,306  was  that 
the  Convention  would  take  such  other  action  as  in  its 
opinion  might  "contribute  to  the  success  of  the  Repub- 
lican Party".  So  that  while  the  campaign  was  to  begin 
comparatively  late,  there  was  to  be  no  mistaking  its 
partisan  character. 

As  to  the  Democrats,  while  they  had  up  to  this  time 
done  nothing  but  talk,  they  really  were  waiting  to  see 
what  course  the  Eepublican  Party  meant  to  pursue  and 
then  act  accordingly.  That  was  now  clear;  and  the  Ee- 
publicans' partisanship  could  be  made  an  issue.  The 
Democrats  must  gather  together  the  fragments  of  their 
party,  make  the  Eepublicans  odious  to  the  War  Demo- 
crats, and  force  a  defensive  campaign  upon  the  party  in 
power.  Thus  the  question  which  the  Democrats  had  been 

305  Iowa  State  Register,  June  5,  1861. 

306  Rhodes'  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  p.   158.     Dunning  'a 
The  Second  Birth  of  the  Eepublican  Party  in  the  American  Historical  Re- 
view, October,  1910. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTBUCTION  PERIOD  1Q7 

discussing,  namely,  "  Shall  the  Democracy  of  Iowa  hold 
a  party  convention?"  was  quickly  answered,  and  in  the 
affirmative.  It  was  left  to  the  leader  of  conservative 
opinion,  D.  A.  Mahoney,  to  start  things,  and  three  days 
after  the  Eepnblican  announcement,  the  call307  for  a 
Democratic  State  Convention  appeared. 

The  Convention  was  to  assemble  in  Des  Moines  on 
July  10th,  fully  three  weeks  before  the  Republican  Con- 
vention. Mr.  Mahoney  claimed  that  the  Eepublicans,  by 
calling  a  partisan  convention,  had  thrown  down  the 
gauntlet  and  he  proposed  to  accept  the  challenge.308  Be- 
sides this,  the  call  indicated  what  was  to  be  the  Demo- 
cratic platform.  Opposition  to  the  war  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment was  to  be  the  issue,  and  it  was  declared  that  the 
Democrats  would  meet  at  the  polls  that  party  which  had 
plunged  the  country  into  war.  The  author  then  enumer- 
ated the  current  charges  against  the  administration,  cen- 
suring President  Lincoln  for  his  assumption  and  exer- 
cise of  arbitrary  power,  referring  to  what  Mahoney  him- 
self was  so  soon  to  experience,  namely  the  President's 
suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  also  his  use 
of  the  military  courts  for  the  trial  of  civil  cases.  The 
call  also  stated  the  business  of  the  convention  and  fixed 
the  basis  of  representation,  which  for  obvious  reasons 
was  to  be  upon  the  vote  for  Governor  in  1859,  instead  of 
upon  the  vote  of  1860.  There  was  to  be  no  voting  by 
proxy,  and  to  secure  a  "full  representation"  the  coun- 
ties were  urged  to  hold  conventions  for  choosing  dele- 
gates. This  was  all  business-like  and  seemed  perfectly 
proper,  but  the  style  of  the  signature  was  unusual  and  on 
its  face  showed  some  irregularity.  It  was  signed  by  D.  A. 
Mahoney,  as  "Chairman  pro  tern".  Through  this  call 

SOT  Dubuque  Herald,  June     8,  1861. 
w&Dubuque  Herald,  June  11,  1861, 


108  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

the  Democracy  was  to  become  further  embarrassed,  and 
the  question  as  to  whether  they  should  hold  a  State  Con- 
vention was  further  complicated  by  involving  them  in  a 
heated  discussion  over  the  call. 

The  first  response  appeared  a  few  days  later  in  the 
form  of  a  letter309  from  J.  B.  Dorr  to  editor  Mahoney, 
protesting  against  the  manner  of  the  call  and  the  time 
set  for  the  convention.  Mr.  Dorr  objected,  in  the  first 
place,  to  the  authority  back  of  the  call ;  for  in  the  absence 
from  the  State  of  Mr.  Henry  Adams,  the  Chairman,  it 
required  a  majority  of  the  State  Committee  to  issue  a 
call,  and  Mr.  Mahoney  had  not  even  corresponded  with  a 
single  member.  Again,  the  time  was  too  short  to  secure 
a  full  representation;  besides,  it  would  be  better  to  hold 
the  convention  after  that  of  the  Eepublicans,  even  as  late 
as  September,  for  it  was  just  possible  that  the  war  would 
take  such  a  turn  as  would  demand  the  attention  of  the 
Democratic  party.  Furthermore,  the  utterances  in  the 
call,  inasmuch  as  they  constituted  a  platform  on  the  ques- 
tion of  the  rebellion,  would  forestall  the  State  Conven- 
tion. Mr.  Dorr  did  not  wish  the  party  put  in  the  wrong 
light.  "All",  said  he,  "are  for  the  Union  and  the  Gov- 
ernment against  the  robber  hordes",  while  the  call  was 
so  phrased  as  to  place  the  Democrats  of  the  State  in  op- 
position to  the  Government.  He  then  paid  a  high  tribute 
to  Lincoln,  declaring  that  what  the  President  did  could 
not  be  arbitrary  when  done  to  prevent  a  far  more  arbi- 
trary and  infamous  course. 

Mr.  Dorr  thus  clearly  put  himself  on  the  side  of  the 
Government,  though  he  gave  no  intimation  of  abandon- 
ing his  party ;  on  the  contrary,  he  appealed  to  the  liberal 
wing  to  take  a  hand  and  control  its  policy.  To  this  end 
he  expressed  the  hope  that  the  State  Central  Committee 

309  The  Dubuque  Herald  for  June  14,  1861,  contains  the  letter  in  full. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  109 

would  suppress  the  call  and  issue  another,  for  holding  the 
convention  in  September,  and  he  revealed  the  geograph- 
ical cleavage  in  the  party  by  concluding :  ' '  It  remains  for 
true  Democrats  of  the  center  of  the  State  to  see  that  the 
convention  is  not  misdirected. "  This  protest  is  typical 
of  the  War  Democrats,  and  shows  practically  as  great  a 
difference  between  them  and  the  regulars  as  between  the 
latter  and  the  Eepublicans.  It  was  for  the  old  line  Demo- 
crats to  say  whether  the  War  Democrats  should  be  saved 
to  the  party  or  be  driven  into  the  arms  of  the  party  in 
power. 

Mr.  Mahoney  refused  to  enter  into  a  prolonged  discus- 
sion with  Dorr,  but  mildly  read  him  out  of  the  party.  He 
charged  him  with  attempting  to  play  the  Democracy  of 
the  State  into  the  hands  of  the  Republicans,  by  convert- 
ing it  into  an  "auxiliary  of  Eepublicanism  in  any  and 
every  course  that  party  may  take  to  prosecute  the  pend- 
ing war".310  The  Herald  was  now  closed  to  Mr.  Dorr,  to 
whom,  however,  the  columns  of  the  local  administration 
paper,  the  Dubuque  Times,  were  quickly  opened.  Ma- 
honey  would  not  permit  his  paper  to  become  a  "medium 
for  destroying  and  disorganizing  the  Democratic  party"; 
the  Times,  he  said,  was  "the  proper  organ  to  use  for  that 
purpose".311  Mr.  Mahoney  may  have  been  right  in  this, 
but  it  was  very  poor  politics,  for  nothing  could  hasten 
more  certainly  the  adhesion  of  the  War  Demcorats  to  the 
Eepublicans. 

Judge  Lincoln  Clark  also  protested  against  the  call  in 
an  able  letter  to  Mr.  Mahoney  on  the  '  '  Principles  of  Gov- 
ernment".312 Other  protests  and  letters  from  leading 
Democrats  over  the  State  appeared.  The  Dubuque 

sio  Dubuque  Herald,  June  14,  1861. 
sii  Dubuque  Herald,  June  19,  1861. 
312  Dubuque  Herald,  June  21,  1861. 


110  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Times  published  a  protest  from  local  Democrats,313  some 
of  whom,  however,  being  informed  that  they  were  con- 
tributing to  the  break  up  of  their  party,  later  pro- 
tested that  they  had  been  deceived  in  the  object  sought, 
and  now  wished  to  put  themselves  right  before  the  pub- 
lic.314 The  Mahoneyites  of  Dubuque  County  now  also 
endorsed  the  call.  The  Herald  took  advantage  of  the  sit- 
uation, and  for  several  days,  under  the  caption  "The 
Protesters  Protested",315  published  an  endorsement  of 
the  call  with  a  daily  increasing  list  of  signers.316 

Mahoney  's  influence  was  not  wholly  lost ;  for  while  his 
method  was  subjected  to  criticism,  his  course  had  also 
found  favor,  several  journals  as  well  as  individuals  com- 
ing out  for  the  convention  as  called.  The  Davenport 
Democrat,  the  Iowa  State  Journal,317  and  the  Oskaloosa 
Times318  fell  in  line,  the  latter  two  recommending  only  a 
change  of  date  for  the  convention.  This  was  all  that  Mr. 
Mahoney  wanted,  and  he  now  came  out  with  an  explana- 
tion,319 to  the  effect  that  the  State  Chairman  upon  leav- 
ing had  committed  to  him  the  authority  to  fix  the  date  for 
the  convention;  and  as  to  the  utterances  in  the  call,  he 
frankly  confessed  that  he  took  the  liberty  to  set  forth 
the  conditions  of  the  country  and  to  state  the  issues.  He 
also  now  sought  to  make  definite  his  opposition  to  seces- 
sion and  to  soften  his  attack  upon  the  Government's  pol- 
icy. He  hoped  thus  to  stay  the  exodus  from  the  party, 

sis  Dubuque  Times,  June  21,  1861. 

314  Mr.  Frederick  A.  Gniffke  in  Dubuque  Herald,  June  29,  1861. 

315  Dubuque  Herald,  June  25,  1861. 

316  Dubuque  Herald,  June  27  and  28,  1861. 

317  Davenport  Democrat,  June  25,  1861. 
sis  OsTcaloosa  Times,  June  27,  1861. 

sis  Dubuque  Herald,  June  29,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  m 

but  the  opposition  was  not  placated  and  remained  sus- 
picious of  this  would-be  dictator. 

It  was  decided  then  to  postpone  the  convention,  and 
the  date  fixed  upon  was  July  24th.  The  possible  reason 
for  choosing  this  date  will  presently  appear.  But  since 
the  postponement  was  for  only  two  weeks,  the  real  con- 
tention of  the  protesting  Democrats  was  disregarded  and 
it  was  certain  that  the  party  differences  would  break  out 
in  the  State  convention.  The  controversy  demonstrated 
clearly  that  the  party  was  disrupted  and  that  the  War 
Democrats  were  at  sea.  They  lacked  definite  purpose, 
apparently  halting  between  the  two  courses  open,  namely, 
either  to  control  the  policy  of  their  party,  or  to  abandon 
the  political  hulk  and  unite  with  the  Republican  party. 

In  the  meantime  the  original  Mahoney  call  had  been 
endorsed  by  several  counties.  Besides  that  of  Dubuque 
the  counties  of  Appanoose,  Linn,  Jones,  Scott,  and  Wash- 
ington issued  calls  for  county  conventions  to  elect  dele- 
gates to  the  State  Convention.  In  none  of  these,  how- 
ever, was  there  a  statement  of  the  "  issues ".  But  the 
resolutions  of  some  of  them,  notably  those  of  Appanoose, 
were  Mahoneyite  in  tone.  These  resolutions  were  drawn 
up  by  Judge  Amos  Harris  of  Centerville,  and  emphasized 
the  stock  points  —  opposition  to  the  war,  to  Lincoln's 
assumption  of  power,  and  to  the  "  Abolition  raid  on  the 
institution  of  slavery ' ' —  and  demanded  the  right  of  free 
discussion. 

After  the  second  call  was  issued,  other  counties,  under 
divided  counsels,  hastened  as  best  they  could,  the  re- 
organization of  the  party  locally,  and  prepared  to  go  up 
to  Des  Moines. 


Before  the  regular  party  conventions  were  held  a  new 


112  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

movement  appeared.  An  opposition  element  was  devel- 
oping within  the  Eepublican  party  as  well  as  in  the  Dem- 
ocratic. These  two  factions,  having  a  common  end,  nat- 
urally drew  together,  and  those  Eepublicans  who  opposed 
the  partisan  course  of  their  party  joined  with  the  de- 
termined War  Democrats  in  an  independent  course. 
They  would  abandon  the  old  parties  and  form  a  new  or- 
ganization. It  was  to  be  composed  of  all  men  on  the  side 
of  the  Government,  who  were  willing  now  to  turn  their 
backs  upon  their  former  party  affiliations  and  organize 
a  party  which  was  to  be  known  as  the  People's  Party. 

On  July  4th  a  call  for  a  State  Convention,  to  convene 
in  Des  Moines  on  the  25th,  was  issued.  The  call  went  out 
from  Des  Moines,  and  among  the  signers  were  Martin  D. 
McHenry  and  J.  C.  Savery,  both  former  Constitutional 
Union  men,  and  Andrew  J.  Stevens,  who  at  the  Chicago 
Convention  of  1860  had  been  reflected  as  the  Iowa  mem- 
ber of  the  National  Eepublican  Committee. 

The  Convention  itself,  so  far  as  size  and  representa- 
tion is  concerned,  was  small,  scarcely  anything  more  than 
a  ' '  one-horse ' '  gathering  of  local  politicians.  There  were 
but  seven  counties  represented  with  thirty  delegates, 
eighteen  of  whom  sat  for  Polk  County.  The  Convention, 
however,  organized,  drafted  a  platform,  and  though  it 
did  not  "deem  it  prudent "  to  name  a  ticket,  it  planned 
to  conquer  the  State  for  a  genuine  non-partisan  cam- 
paign. They  thus  hoped  to  accomplish  in  Iowa  what  was 
going  on  in  some  of  the  neighboring  States  and  in  the 
East. 

The  resolutions320  reported  and  finally  adopted  were 
rather  hostile  to  the  Government  and  hence  did  not  suit 
all.  Upon  the  issue  of  the  war  the  Convention  divided, 
Mr.  Savery,  a  "delegate"  from  Polk  County,  submitting 

320  Iowa  State  Register,  July  31,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  KECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  H3 

a  substitute  resolution  as  an  amendment  to  the  war  plank 
in  the  committee's  report.  It  proposed  unqualified  loyal 
support  to  the  National  Government  "against  its  adver- 
saries, whether  they  show  themselves  as  open  Eebels  in 
the  South  or  as  sympathizers  with  the  rebellion  in  the 
North ".  This  was  voted  down  and  a  mere  general  dec- 
laration adopted  in  its  stead,  namely,  a  pledge  "to  sup- 
port the  Government  in  maintaining  inviolate  the  Consti- 
tution and  the  laws,  and  to  suppress  rebellion  in  all  its 
forms ' '. 

The  resolutions  as  a  whole  were  not  acceptable  to  all, 
and  so  the  "  Union "  party  was  handicapped  from  the 
start.  Little  could  be  expected  without  the  moral 
strength  of  conviction  back  of  it  all.  Thus,  while  the 
purpose  was  to  consolidate  the  non-partisan  "Union" 
men  of  the  State,  it  failed  in  its  object.  Eepublicans 
looked  upon  the  movement  with  suspicion  and  ridiculed 
the  "pretense  that  all  former  political  associations  had 
fulfilled  their  uses  and  ought  to  be  superseded".  The 
Democrats  were  hopeful  of  using  the  new  party  to  their 
own  advantage.  The  Eepublicans,  for  their  part,  regard- 
ed it  as  rather  suspicious  that  this  so-called  "People's" 
Convention  should  have  been  called  together  on  the  heels 
of  the  Democratic  State  Convention,  that  certain  lead- 
ing Democrats  seemed  very  much  interested  in  the  Con- 
vention, and  that  members  of  the  two  groups  apparently 
had  so  much  in  common. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  fusion  was  in  the 
minds  of  some  at  least,  as  is  seen  in  the  fact  of  their  not 
putting  out  a  ticket.  To  the  minds  of  the  Eepublicans 
this  meant  danger.  After  the  convention,  Mr.  Palmer 
editorially  expressed  the  suspicion  of  the  Eepublicans. 
Said  he :  "Our  readers  will  bear  us  witness  that  we  have 


8 


THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

shown  no  undue  partiality  for  this  People's  movement 
from  the  beginning."321 

THE  DEMOCRACY  IN  STATE   CONVENTION 

The  Democratic  State  Convention  assembled  in  Des 
Moines  on  July  24th,  with  about  seventy-five  delegates  in 
attendance.  These  were  almost  exclusively  from  the 
eastern  half  of  the  State,  there  being  only  three  counties 
—  Dallas,  Guthrie  and  Pottawattamie  —  represented, 
west  from  the  capital.  Even  the  populous  south-eastern 
counties  of  Lee  and  Des  Moines,  and  the  north-eastern 
counties  of  Allamakee,  Clayton,  Linn  and  Scott,  failed  to 
send  delegates.  In  the  organization  of  the  convention 
the  Mahoneyites  were  easily  in  control.  Charles  Negus 
of  Fairfield  was  the  temporary  chairman,  and  ex-Gov- 
ernor Stephen  Hempstead  was  honored  with  the  perma- 
nent chairmanship.  Since  there  was  an  active  opposi- 
tion minority,  the  proceedings  were  marked  with  sensa- 
tional incidents  from  first  to  last.322 

Mr.  Mahoney  properly  opened  the  Convention  with  a 
key-note  speech  which  presumably  would  reappear  in  the 
platform.  The  speech  brought  to  his  feet  a  War  Demo- 
crat, W.  W.  Belknap  of  Keokuk,  who  though  not  a  dele- 
gate, was  present  to  see  how  things  would  go.  Mr.  Bel- 
knap  arose  to  explain  the  status  of  the  Lee  County 
Democracy,  and  threw  a  fire-brand  into  the  Convention 
when  he  stated  that  Lee  County  Democrats  did  not  re- 
spond to  the  "call  from  Dubuque"  because  they  did  not 
like  the  looks  of  it,  and  protested  against  the  course 
taken.  A  delegate  moved  to  make  Mr.  Belknap  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Convention,  but  he  spurned  the  invitation,  and 
sensation  ran  riot  when  he  declared  that  he  had  "no  de- 
sire to  train  in  such  a  crowd".  While  his  position  was- 

321  Iowa  State  Register,  July  31,  1861. 

a22  Proceedings  in  Iowa  State  Register,  July  31,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAX  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  H5 

characteristic  of  the  War  Democrats,  yet  there  were 
enough  present  as  delegates  to  wage  war  upon  the  Ma- 
honey  ites  in  platform-making. 

The  real  contest  came  on  the  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Resolutions.  The  resolutions,323  ten  in  number,  pre- 
sented a  medley  of  patriotic  sentiments,  expressions  con- 
demnatory of  the  Government,  and  a  plan  for  securing 
peace.  The  framers  condemned  both  secession  and  war; 
and  although  they  obligated  themselves  ' l  to  preserve  and 
perpetuate  the  federal  union ",  they  did  so  only  so  far  as 
constitutional  means  might  be  employed.  They  again  op- 
posed the  use  of  force  and  recommended  a  representative 
peace  convention;  but  this  was  to  include  the  "removal 
of  the  question  of  slavery  from  the  halls  of  congress  and 
the  States  of  the  Union ' '.  They  thus  contended  for  a  be- 
lated method  in  the  support  of  an  outworn  principle,  and 
proved  their  inability  to  frame  a  really  constructive  plat- 
form. 

The  peace  plank  in  the  resolutions  brought  out  a  sharp 
fight,  with  Judge  Phillips  leading  the  attack  on  the  vet- 
erans —  Mahoney,  Samuels,  Neal,  and  Bennett.  To  gain 
some  standing  ground  the  War  Democrats  offered  a  res- 
olution pledging  the  Iowa  Democracy  to  the  support  of 
the  National  Administration  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
war,  in  case  the  Confederate  States  should  refuse  to  ac- 
cept an  equitable  compromise ;  but  they  were  defeated  in 
this,  as  also  in  their  attempt  to  secure  an  endorsement, 
rather  than  a  condemnation,  of  the  $800,000  war  loan  of 
the  State. 

In  the  nomination  of  a  ticket,  the  old  guard  had  it  all 
their  own  way.  For  the  office  of  Governor  they  named 
ex- Judge  Charles  Mason;  for  Lieutenant-Governor,  Ma- 
turin  L.  Fisher;  and  for  Justice,  J.  M.  Ellwood.  With 

323  Fairall  'a  Manual  of  Iowa  Politics,  Vol.  I,  pp.  58-60. 


116  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

this  ticket,  composed  of  excellent  men  personally,  though 
standing  upon  an  anti-war  platform,  and  with  their  party 
distracted,  the  Democrats  went  before  the  people  to  face 
a  certain  and  overwhelming  defeat  at  the  polls. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY   CONVENTION 

Quite  otherwise  was  it  with  the  Eepublicans  when  they 
assembled  in  Des  Moines  a  week  later,  on  July  31st.  Al- 
though the  Convention  was  not  as  large  as  was  expected, 
it  was  marked  by  enthusiasm,  determination,  and  confi- 
dence. There  were  but  sixty-four  of  the  ninety-seven 
counties  represented,  and  several  of  these  were  repre- 
sented by  proxy.324  The  comparatively  small  represen- 
tation is  to  be  accounted  for  rather  by  the  fact  of  the  ac- 
tivity in  military  organization  and  the  general  confidence 
in  those  who  would  gather,  than  because  any  consider- 
able number  of  Eepublicans  had  become  disaffected  by 
the  People's  party  movement. 

This  Convention  is  notable  in  that  it  was  composed  of 
so  many  able  and  prominent  men,  then  leaders,  or  soon  to 
become  such,  in  the  councils  of  the  Nation  as  well  as  in 
State  politics.  The  men  soon  to  go  to  Congress  were 
William  B.  Allison,  Hiram  Price,  J.  B.  Grinnell,  and  G. 
W.  Donnan.  Eush  Clark  was  to  go  into  governmental 
service  at  Washington,  Samuel  F.  Miller  to  the  Supreme 
Court,  Samuel  Merrill  to  the  Governor's  chair,  and  E.  W. 
Eastman  to  the  Lieutenant-Governorship.  Then  there 
were  present  such  men  as  John  A.  Elliott,  J.  W.  Cattell, 
N.  M.  Hubbard,  F.  W.  Eowell,  Orville  Faville,  James  T. 
Lane,  P.  H.  Conger,  0.  P.  Shiras,  Isaac  Pendleton,  J.  M. 
Griffith,  P.  P.  Henderson,  and  the  newspaper  men,  Clark 
Dunham,  Charles  Aldrich,  and  others.  These  were  the 
men  who  shaped  the  course  of  Iowa  Eepublicanism  in 
1861. 

324  The  proceedings  are  found  in  the  Iowa  State  Register,  August  7,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  H7 

The  Convention  organized  with  William  G.  Woodward 
and  Charles  Aldrich  as  the  temporary  officers.  The  Ger- 
man element  was  honored  in  the  choice  of  H.  A.  Wiltse 
as  permanent  chairman.  The  Committee  on  Resolu- 
tions325 was  especially  strong  and  their  work  politically 
important.  They  drew  up  a  short,  simple  platform, 
"wisely  and  patriotically  confined  to  the  questions  now 
engaging  the  Nation".326  The  report,  made  by  Mr.  Al- 
lison, contained  eight  resolutions327  and  was,  we  are  told, 
unanimously  adopted.  The  resolutions  declared  that 
"whosoever  hesitates  or  falters"  in  the  cause  of  the 
Union,  ' '  should  receive  the  execrations  of  mankind  as  he 
surely  will  the  reproaches  of  posterity",  and  made  an 
open  bid  for  the  support  of  the  War  Democrats.  This 
was  not  a  fusionist  proposal,  but  a  straight-out,  unvar- 
nished invitation  to  join  the  Republican  party,  and  was 
the  basic  principle  upon  which  the  party  acted  through- 
out the  war.  The  article  reads :  ' '  We  heartily  invite  co- 
operation with  us  of  men  of  all  parties,  whatsoever  their 
former  political  ties,  who  adhere  to  these  sentiments,  and 
who  unite  in  the  patriotic  support  of  the  present  loyal  ad- 
ministration". Besides  the  platform,  two  separate  reso- 
lutions of  political  significance  were  adopted.  One  was 
in  substance  the  Savery  resolution  which  had  been  re- 
jected at  the  "People's  Convention";  and  the  other  was 
by  Mr.  Grinnell,  in  praise  of  the  Irish  and  the  German 
soldiers,  with  a  recommendation  for  the  promotion  of 
Colonel  Franz  Sigel  to  a  Brigadier  Generalship. 

The  Republicans  were  less  harmonious  in  making  up 

sss  Committee  on  Kesolutions :  Samuel  F.  Miiller,  W.  H.  Bay,  N.  W. 
Bo  well,  Isaac  Pendleton,  Isaac  Brandt,  J.  Matthews,  Hiram  Price,  E.  Cutler, 
Wm.  B.  Allison,  Orville  Faville,  Enoch  W.  Eastman. 

326  Iowa  State  Register,  August  7,  1861. 

327  Fairall  's  Manual  of  Iowa  Politics,  Vol.  I,  pp.  57,  58. 


118  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

their  ticket  than  in  drafting  the  platform.  The  rivalry 
for  the  gubernatorial  candidacy  was  especially  keen,  but 
the  general  feeling  was  that  Governor  Kirkwood  de- 
served a  second  term.  He  had  already  been  tested  and 
had  demonstrated  that  in  a  crisis,  he,  calm,  resourceful, 
and  honest,  could  be  depended  upon.  But  there  were  oth- 
er aspirants,  among  them  Elijah  Sells,  who  it  was 
claimed,  had  he  followed  the  advice  of  his  friends  and 
deserted  Kirkwood,  might  have  swung  the  convention.328 
Fitz  Henry  Warren,  a  man  high  in  the  councils  of  the 
party  and  restless  out  of  office,  was  seeking  the  nomina- 
tion, while  Samuel  F.  Miller,  to  whom  the  place  had  been 
promised  after  the  end  of  Kirkwood 's  term,  was  also  in 
the  field.329  But  Governor  Kirkwood  was  easily  renom- 
inated,  first  by  ballot  and  then  by  acclamation.330  John 
E.  Needham  was  named  for  Lieutenant-Governor  over 
S.  J.  McFarland,  S.  B.  Shelledy,  Wm.  A.  Holmes,  and 
John  Edwards.  Edwards  soon  joined  the  People's  move- 
ment. The  sharpest  contest  was  in  the  nomination  for 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Here  a  deadlock  pro- 
longed the  ballotting  for  Judge  Williams,  Justice  Lowe, 
and  John  F.  Dillon,  which  was  not  broken  until  the  four- 
teenth ballot,  when  Justice  Lowe  was  renominated.  E. 
W.  Eastman,  Jacob  Butler,  and  Samuel  F.  Miller  were 
also  voted  for  during  the  deadlock.  The  ticket  was  re- 
garded as  especially  strong  and  was  warmly  commended 
to  "the  lovers  of  our  common  country ". 

328  As  the  result  of  this  contest  the  two  men,  Kirkwood  and  Sells,  became 
estranged.     The  former  later  came  to  believe  that  Mr.  Sells  had  after  all 
worked   underhandedly   for  the  nomination  at   that   time. —  See  Annals   of 
Iowa. 

329  See  proceedings  of  convention,  Iowa  State  Register,  August  7,  1861. 

sso  informal  ballot:  Kirkwood,  272 V2 ;  Miller,  31;  Sells,  29;  Warren, 
29;  S.  A.  Rice,  12V2.  Formal  ballot:  Kirkwood,  310y2;  Warren,  32y2; 
Miller,  19;  Sells,  12. 


CIVIL   WAE  AND  EECONSTEVCTION  PERIOD  H9 

A  special  committee  headed  by  Mr.  Grinnell  selected 
the  State  Central  Committee,331  whose  business  it  was  to 
Republicanize  the  State.  There  was  little  to  indicate  that 
the  solidarity  of  the  party  was  weakened.  However, 
during  the  month  of  August  and  the  first  days  of  Sep- 
tember, in  the  heat  of  the  campaign,  a  wave  of  desertion 
struck  the  party ;  but  for  several  reasons,  as  we  shall  see, 
the  disaffected  individuals  returned  to  their  party  al- 
legiance in  time  to  vote  straight. 

THE  QUESTION  OF  A  UNION  PAKTY  :  A  SECOND  SE.KIES  OF  STATE 

CONVENTIONS 

The  campaign  of  1861  was  unique.  Campaigning  as 
such  could  make  little  headway  against  the  political  un- 
rest and  war  excitement  of  the  summer.  There  was  an 
increasing  demand  for  peace,  for  the  war  was  bringing 
disaster  upon  the  country.  The  country  was  in  the  first 
shock  of  consciousness  that  the  war  promised  to  be  a  very 
real  and  stubborn  struggle,  and  not  a  summer's  holiday 
affair  as  many  Northerners  had  fancied.  After  the  de- 
feat at  Bull  Eun,  although  the  call  for  troops  was  re- 
sponded to  and  the  State  authorities  had  pushed  enlist- 
ments, yet  the  peace  party  stock  rose.  The  Democrats 
were  disrupted  and  discredited,  the  Republicans  were  be- 
ing bitterly  criticized  for  their  partisan  course,  and  the 
half  way  policy  of  the  People's  party  satisfied  no  one. 
The  time  seemed  ripe  for  a  new  party  with  a  new  name. 
The  feeling  now  invaded  the  ranks  of  the  Eepublican 
party,  alienating  quite  a  large  and  influential  element. 

33i  Republican  State  Central  Committee:  (1)  Samuel  F.  Miller  of  Lee, 
(2)  William  S.  Dungan  of  Lucas,  (3)  W.  E.  Smith  of  Woodbury,  (4)  John 
R.  Lockwood  of  Pottawattamie,  (5)  J.  N.  Dewey  of  Polk,  (6)  J.  H.  Saun- 
ders  of  Keokuk,  (7)  Jacob  Butler  of  Muscatine,  (8)  J.  Shane  of  Benton, 
(9)  G.  W.  Metier  of  Black  Hawk,  (10)  L.  Fuller  of  Fayette,  (11)  E.  H. 
Taylor  of  Marshall. 


120  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Some,  as  Senator  Grimes332  for  instance,  though  not  dis- 
gruntled, were  ready  to  yield  the  party  to  the  cause  of 
the  Government,  and  form  a  new  party  to  that  end.  The 
result  was  a  second  series  of  conventions:  the  People's 
party  to  organize  upon  a  State-wide  basis  with  a  ticket; 
the  Democrats  to  re-shape  their  ticket,  in  the  hope  of 
bringing  back  the  deserters. 

The  second  People's  Convention  assembled  at  Des 
Moines  on  August  28th.  The  peace  party  was  now 
strengthened  by  such  men  as  William  Penn  Clarke,  John 
Edwards,  Eeuben  Noble,  and  others  from  the  Eepub- 
licans,  and  I.  M.  Preston,  T.  W.  Claggett,  and  others  from 
the  Democracy.  It  even  claimed  Adjutant  General  Ba- 
ker. The  Convention  was  larger  than  the  one  in  July, 
there  being  nineteen  counties  represented,  with  some 
forty  odd  delegates.333  Colonel  Preston  was  made  the 
permanent  chairman,  and  William  Penn  Clarke  was 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

The  Convention  claimed  to  be  non-partisan,  wholly  free 
from  political  bias,  and  so  the  resolutions  discredited  all 
partisan  platforms  and  tickets.  In  substance  the  resolu- 
tions were  similar  to  those  adopted  in  July.  Three  single 
resolutions  were  also  adopted,  one  by  Mr.  Claggett,  which 
struck  at  the  Lincoln  administration,  eliciting  a  fierce  dis- 
cussion, but  for  the  sake  of  peace  it  went  through. 

The  main  object  of  this  Convention  was  to  name  a  non- 
332  l  *  Permit  me  to  say  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  I  am  anxious  to 
forget  all  party  names,  and  party  platforms  and  'party  organizations,  and 
to  unite  with  anybody  and  everybody  in  an  honest,  ardent  and  patriotic 
support  of  the  Government  —  not  as  a  party  Government  with  a  Republican 
at  its  head,  but  as  the  national  Government  ordained  by  and  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  whole  of  the  country. ' ' —  Senator  Grimes  in  response  to  a  letter 
(August  17th,  1861)  signed  by  Republicans  and  Democrats,  inviting  him 
to  give  an  address. —  Salter  's  Life  of  James  W.  Grimes,  p.  150. 

333  For  proceedings  of  the  convention,  see  the  Iowa  State  Begister,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  121 

partisan  State  ticket.  The  willingness  on  the  part  of 
some,  and  the  equally  determined  refusal  on  the  part  of 
others,  to  accept  nominations  was  the  thing  which  char- 
acterized this  contest.  It  developed  a  feeling  which  mili- 
tated against  the  movement.  But  how  did  they  make  out 
a  non-partisan  slate?  General  Baker,  a  former  Demo- 
crat, was  named  for  Governor;  Col.  Laurin  Dewey,  a 
Constitutional  Union  man  of  1860,  was  named  for  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor; and  Eeuben  Noble,  a  non-partisan  Ee- 
publican,  was  nominated  for  Judge.  They  could  not  have 
been  more  politic,  so  far  as  concerned  the  recognition  of 
political  antecedents  in  the  newly  formed  party,  and  the 
ticket  was  excellent  in  its  personnel.  But  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Colonel  Dewey,  who  was  nominated  by  accla- 
mation, the  nominees  protested.  Besides  this,  John  Ed- 
wards and  Col.  William  H.  Merritt  were  prominently  in 
the  race  for  Governor,  while  J.  N.  Eogers  and  Martin  D. 
McHenry  would  have  accepted  the  nomination  for  Jus- 
tice. But  the  Convention  did  what  it  started  out  to  ac- 
complish, and  after  adopting  the  name  " Union  Party7' 
and  appointing  a  State  Central  Committee,  with  Dr.  A. 
Y.  Hull  as  chairman,  the  members  adjourned  to  engage 
in  the  campaign. 

THE    SECOND    DEMOCRATIC    CONVENTION 

The  Democrats  had  fixed  upon  August  29th,334  the  day 
after  the  "Union"  party  Convention,  as  the  time  for 
holding  their  second  convention,  but  because  of  the  sus- 
picions aroused  it  was  changed  to  September  3rd.  This 
was  to  have  been  a  convention  of  the  anti-secession  wing 
of  the  party,  but  the  Mahoneyites  resolved  to  pack  the 
Convention  and  thus  perchance  save  their  organization 
and  ticket.335  The  result  was  another  imbroglio  which 
only  further  discredited  the  Democracy. 

334  iowa  state  Register,  August  14,  1861. 
sss  state  Journal,  August  28,  1861. 


122  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

At  the  appointed  time  the  factions  gathered  at  Des 
Moines  with  twenty  counties  represented.  The  Maho- 
neyites,  true  to  their  purpose,  packed  the  hall,  overawed 
the  " Union"  minority,  and  controlled  the  Convention; 
although  they  did  allow  the  minority  to  have  the  chair- 
man, Judge  Lincoln  Clark.336  They  showed  their 
strength,  however,  in  two  particulars,  namely,  first  in 
seating  the  Mahoney  delegation  from  Wayne  County  by 
a  vote  of  200  to  71,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  de- 
feated delegation  had  been  regularly  chosen;  and  in  the 
second  place,  the  appointment  of  the  Committee  on  Reso- 
lutions was  taken  out  of  the  chairman's  hands  and  as- 
sumed by  the  Convention. 

In  the  evening  the  Convention  met  in  Sherman  Hall  to 
hear  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  and  to 
name  the  ticket.  As  might  be  expected,  there  were  two 
sets  of  resolutions  reported.  The  majority  of  the  com- 
mittee reported  the  platform  which  was  adopted  at  the 
July  convention,  while  the  minority  report,  by  William  F. 
Coolbaugh,  chairman  of  the  committee,  was  an  out-and- 
out  administration  platform.  The  struggle  came  on  the 
floor  of  the  Convention,  where  Coolbaugh  was  ably  sup- 
ported by  Judge  J.  C.  Hall  and  others,  and  the  chief 
spokesmen  for  the  regular  platform  were  M.  V.  B.  Ben- 
nett and  A.  J.  Baker.  During  the  debate  it  was  "con- 
fusion worse  confounded",  and  Mr.  Clark  tendered  his 
resignation  as  chairman.  He  then,  in  a  parting  speech, 
warned  the  secession  element,  and  with  a  comparatively 
large  following  of  War  Democrats  he  left  the  hall. 

After  the  bolters  had  retired,  the  Convention  placed 
Senator  Harvey  Dunlavy  in  the  chair,  passed  their  reso- 
lutions, and  revised  their  former  ticket  by  supplanting 

sac  Proceedings  found  in  Iowa  State  Register,  September  4,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD 

Mr.  Fisher,  the  nominee  for  Lieutenant-Governor,  with 
William  H.  Merritt.337  The  Convention  adjourned,  and 
for  a  second  time  the  Democrats  submitted  their  work  to 
the  people  of  the  State. 

The  party  met  with  less  unanimity  in  the  endorsement 
of  its  work  than  before,  few  endorsing  both  platform  and 
ticket.  Richard  H.  Sylvester  of  the  Iowa  City  Press, 
however,  came  out  with  a  full  endorsement,338  as  did  a 
few  others.  Mr.  Coolbaugh,  one  of  the  bolters,  as  soon  as 
he  reached  home,  issued  an  address  urging  the  Democ- 
racy to  vote  against  Charles  Mason  and  also  against 
Jairus  E.  Neal,  who  had  just  been  nominated  for  Con- 
gress, since  both  men  were  "taking  disunion  ground ",339 
To  such  War  Democrats  as  were  impressed  by  Cool- 
baugh 's  views,  there  was  obviously  nothing  left  to  do  but 
to  join  the  third-party  movement. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY   AND   THE   UNION    MOVEMENT 

The  Republicans,  beset  on  all  sides,  were  compelled  to 
defend  their  particular  kind  of  non-partisanship.  They 
claimed  that  no  better  "Union"  platform  could  possibly 
be  drafted  than  the  one  adopted  by  the  Republican  party, 
since  it  was  broad  enough  for  everybody  to  stand  upon.340 
As  evidence  that  Republicans  were  "  Union "  men  and 
that  their  party  was  the  "  Union "  party,  they  cited  the 
action  of  the  Republican  Congress  and  President  in  their 
efforts  to  save  the  Union.  They  pointed  out  the  fact  that 
in  the  Republican  platform  all  party  issues  had  been  ig- 
nored ;  and  the  non-partisan  character  of  their  State  con- 

337  The  Democratic  ticket  now  was:  for  Governor,  Charles  Mason;  for 
Lieutenant-Governor,  W.  H.  Mjerritt;  for  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
J.  M.  Ell  wood. 

sss  Iowa  City  Press,  September  6,  1861. 

339  Iowa  State  Register,  September  11,  1861. 

3-to  Iowa  State  Register,  August  29,  1861. 


124  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

vention  was  shown  by  the  unanimous  adoption  of  the 
Savery  resolution,341  which  was  expressly  designed  to 
distinguish  between  the  loyal  support  of  a  loyal  govern- 
ment and  the  endorsement  of  purely  partisan  issues. 
The  Eepublicans  generally  held  that  this  "new  party " 
movement  was  fathered  by  disappointed  office-seekers, 
both  Eepublican  and  Democratic,  and  was  designed  to 
defeat  Governor  Kirkwood. 

The  invitation  to  "patriotic  Democrats "  to  join  their 
party  seemed  to  the  Republicans  both  logical  and  honor- 
able; for,  they  held,  since  the  issue  was  simply  that  of 
sustaining  or  opposing  the  Government,  to  support  their 
party  nominees  was  the  only  way  of  manifesting  the  in- 
dividual citizen 's  loyalty  and  integrity.  Whether  the  Ee- 
publicans were  sincere  or  not,  the  argument  they  put 
forth  was  not  wholly  convincing  to  their  wavering  op- 
ponents. One  thing,  however,  was  clear,  namely,  that  the 
Eepublicans  of  Iowa  had  no  mind  to  join  in  a  fusion 
scheme  in  1861,  doubtless  for  the  reason  that  they  knew 
their  strength  to  be  sufficient  without  it. 

While  in  a  few  counties  the  People's  movement  suc- 
ceeded,342 in  others  it  was  successfully  averted  by  local 
Eepublican  leaders.  At  the  "People's  Convention"  of 
Linn  County,  held  at  Cedar  Eapids  early  in  September, 
Judge  Isbell  threw  cold  water  on  the  movement.  Called 
upon  for  a  "speech",  he  declared  that  the  Eepublican 
party  was  victorious  and  there  was  no  cause  for  the 

341  It  had   been  rejected   by   the   People's   Convention,   July   25th.     See 
above,  p.  113. 

342  In  Delaware  County  a  ' '  Loyal   Union  Convention ' '  nominated  S.   G. 
VanAnda,  a  former  Democrat,  for  a  Representative  in  the  legislature;  like- 
wise in  Monroe  County  a  ' '  harmonious  Union  Convention ' '  named  Oliver 
P.   Rowles,  of  Republican   antecedents.     Both   of  these   men  were  elected, 
and  in  the   election   returns   the  Republican  press   accredited   them   to   the 
Republican  party. —  Iowa  State  Register,  November  26,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  125 

formation  of  a  new  party;  nor  should  the  Eepublican 
party  be  called  upon  to  yield  anything.  It  had  never  de- 
serted and  it  was  dishonorable  to  ask  it  to  do  so  now.  As 
to  a  new  party,  said  he,  "  however  pure  the  motive  or 
whatever  may  be  the  name  of  such  party,  confidence  is  of 
slow  growth  and  I  believe  the  inevitable  practical  result 
must  be  to  engender  discord  and  heated  strife  detri- 
mental to  the  best  interests  of  the  country  and  encour- 
aging to  its  enemies".  He  thus  expressed  the  general 
Eepublican  view  and  with  good  effect  probed  the  core  of 
the  situation. 

This  determination  of  the  Republicans  to  maintain 
their  party  organization,  notwithstanding  the  clamorous 
demand  from  a  minority  within  as  well  as  from  without 
the  party,  for  a  non-partisan  "Union"  policy,  is  further 
seen  in  the  choice  of  a  successor  to  Representative  Sam- 
uel R.  Curtis,  who  had  resigned  his  seat  and  gone  to  the 
front.  His  letter  to  his  First  District  constituents  re- 
signing his  seat,  did  not  appear  until  the  close  of  Au- 
gust,343 but  already  the  Republican  Congressional  Com- 
mittee had  taken  steps  to  choose  his  successor.344  The 
Republicans  assembled  at  Oskaloosa  on  September  4th 
in  a  largely  attended,  strictly  partisan  convention,  pre- 
sided over  by  S.  F.  Cooper  of  Poweshiek  County.  While 
it  was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  James  F.  Wilson  would 
be  the  almost  unanimous  choice,  yet  there  were  other 
aspirants  —  M.  L.  McPherson,  Rufus  L.  B.  Clark,  and 
John  Edwards.  On  the  first  ballot  Wilson  secured  153 
votes  to  69  for  the  others ;  on  the  second  ballot  he  got  all 
but  one  vote,  which  went  to  Edwards.  Mr.  Wilson's  nom- 
ination was  then  made  unanimous  and  he  delivered  his 
famous  acceptance  speech,  in  which  he  advocated  "can- 

343  Iowa  State  Register,  August  28,  1861. 
state  Register,  August  21,  1861. 


126  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

non,  sword  and  bayonet7'  as  the  "only  compromise  for 
traitors  ",345  The  convention  adopted  a  characteristic 
Eepublican  platform.  The  "Union"  element  in  the  con- 
vention was  not  satisfied  and  determined  upon  an  inde- 
pendent course. 

Just  before  the  nomination  of  Wilson  the  Democrats 
had  held  a  convention  and  had  nominated  Senator  Jairus 
E.  Neal.  The  "  Union "  faction  had  supported  Dan  0. 
Finch,  who  was  but  seven  votes  behind  Mr.  Neal.346  The 
Democrats  could  have  made  no  greater  mistake  at  this 
time,  for  Mr.  Neal  was  a  well-known  "rebel  sympathiz- 
er ".  As  early  as  June  he  had  delivered  a  speech  at 
Knoxville  which  was  so  pro-Southern  as  to  find  accept- 
able circulation  in  the  South.  It  was  to  Neal  that  the  Re- 
publicans first  applied  the  cognomen  "Rattlesnake"  in 
connection  with  his  candidacy  for  Congress.347 

In  view  of  the  sharp  contests  in  both  party  conventions 
it  was  quite  natural  and  easy  for  both  dissatisfied  fac- 
tions to  decide  upon  naming  a  "Union"  candidate.  A 
convention  met  at  Oskaloosa  on  September  llth  and, 
against  his  wishes,  nominated  John  Edwards,  who  at  the 
time  was  winning  military  glory  in  Missouri.348  He  had 
already  been  endorsed  for  the  Congressional  nomination 
by  the  Union  Convention  on  August  28th.  Mr.  Edwards 
did  not  accept.  The  matter,  however,  was  allowed  to 
drag  on  until  October,  when  the  Union  party  movement 
had  spent  itself,  before  it  was  officially  announced  by  the 
chairman  of  the  Union  Congressional  Convention,  Mr. 
J.  B.  Bauserman,  that  Edwards 's  name  had  been  with- 
drawn.349 

345  Proceedings  in  Iowa  State  Eegister,  September  6,  1861. 
346/owa  State  Eegister,  September  4,  1861. 

347  Iowa  State  Eegister,  October  2,  1861. 

348  lowa  State  Eegister,  September  19,  1861. 

349  loiva  State  Eegister,  October  2,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  KECONSTRUCTION.  PEEIOD  127 

Thus  the  Republican  leaders  were  beginning  to  see  the 
end  of  the  danger  to  their  partisan  course.  They  were, 
however,  to  be  annoyed  by  the  "Fusion"  scheme  which 
now  took  the  place  of  the  project  for  a  "Union"  party. 

THE   FUSION    MOVEMENT    AND   THE    ELECTION 

The  second  Union  convention  failed  to  yield  the  results 
hoped  for  by  its  projectors.  The  ticket,  though  a  good 
one,  was  in  a  state  of  suspended  acceptance ;  for  the  nom- 
inees had  not  yet  signified  their  intentions.  The  further 
Democratic  split  presaged  naught  but  ruin  to  the  party, 
though  the  leaders  made  strenuous  efforts  to  rally  their 
friends  in  old-time  mass  meetings.  Many  dissatisfied 
Democrats  were  loath  to  give  up  their  party  and  some  of 
the  very  leaders  of  the  Union  movement  still  claimed  to 
be  Democrats.  Others  who,  upon  the  firing  on  Sumter, 
started  with  the  Government,  now  hesitated.  All  Demo- 
crats comprehended  the  inevitable  result  of  their  divi- 
sions, and  there  came  to  be  a  general  feeling  that  their  di- 
vided state  was  the  explanation  for  Republican  success 
in  the  past  as  also  of  their  inevitable  victory  at  the  ap- 
proaching election. 

One  of  the  first  attempts  toward  getting  together  was 
at  a  "Democratic  mass  meeting"  in  Des  Moines  on 
Thursday,  September  3rd,  the  day  of  the  second  Demo- 
cratic State  Convention.  It  was  presided  over  by  Dr.  A. 
Y.  Hull,  who  had  just  been  made  State  Chairman  of  the 
new  Union  party;  while  the  leading  speaker,  James  Ba- 
ker, had  been  prominent  in  calling  the  second  People's 
convention.  Baker,  in  his  speech,  strongly  opposed  the 
coercion  policy  of  the  Government.  Several  impromptu 
speeches  were  made,  among  them  one  as  significant  as  it 
was  typical  of  the  state  of  mind  of  the  War  Democrats  in 
the  fall  of  1861.  This  was  the  speech  of  Mr.  C.  C.  Cole. 


128  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

He  was  one  who,  after  the  Sumter  affair,  sided  with  the 
Government,  but  had  not  yet  joined  the  Republican  party ; 
he  confessed  to  being  "politically  out  in  the  cold".  In 
his  speech  he  of  course  attacked  the  anti-Union  senti- 
ments of  the  Mahoneyites;  but  on  the  other  hand,  en- 
dorsed their  ticket,  while  he  attacked  the  Republican 
ticket  and  party,  though  not  its  principles,  urging  all  to 
unite  to  defeat  the  ticket  and  destroy  the  party.  Mr. 
Cole  is  an  example  of  the  hesitating  Democrat  who,  while 
he  could  not  follow  his  party,  yet  feared  losing  political 
caste  by  deserting  it  outright.  At  this  meeting,  in  order 
to  unite  the  opposition  factions,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
inveigle  Governor  Kirkwood  into  a  partisan  contest  by 
challenging  him  to  a  debate  on  the  political  issues.  The 
challenge  was  politely  declined,  and  wisely  so ;  for  the  Re- 
publicans could  not  hazard  their  latest  non-partisan 
claims  in  a  partisan  encounter.350 

The  two  factions  of  the  Democrats,  together  with  some 
of  the  Union  party  adherents,  now  came  close  enough  to- 
gether, in  their  determination  to  defeat  the  Republicans, 
and  especially  Governor  Kirkwood,  to  hold  a  joint  meet- 
ing of  the  two  State  Central  Committees  to  decide  upon  a 
course  of  action.  The  plan  agreed  upon  involved  the 
withdrawal  of  the  nominees  of  both  factions  and  the  mak- 
ing out  of  a  new  "  joint  ticket "  by  the  committees.  This 
was  done.  They  made  a  distinct  bid  for  the  war  element 
by  deciding  on  a  military  man  for  Governor,  and  so  they 
would  match  Governor  Kirkwood  with  the  popular  of- 
ficer, Colonel  William  H.  Merritt.  For  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor they  selected  the  "Union"  candidate,  Laurin 
Dewey;  while  for  Justice  they  agreed  upon  J.  M.  Ell- 
wood,  who  had  been  placed  on  both  of  the  previous  Demo- 
cratic tickets.  The  "Union"  representatives  on  the  joint 

350  Iowa  State  Register,  'September  11,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  129 

committee  then  wished  to  have  Jairus  E.  Neal  yield  his 
nomination  for  Congress  in  the  First  District  and  all 
unite  on  John  Edwards,  but  the  Mahoney  faction  balked, 
and  carried  their  point.351  The  Republican  element  was 
now  unrepresented  on  the  new  ticket,  for  Colonel  Dewey 
was  an  old  Constitutional  Union  man  and  the  other  two 
were  Democrats. 

As  to  the  original  candidates  for  Governor  and  Judge 
on  the  Union  party  ticket,  neither  Baker  nor  Noble  had 
accepted  the  nomination;  they  had  simply  ignored  it, 
disclaiming  all  responsibility  in  the  matter.  Never- 
theless, both  now  issued  rather  tardy  public  declinations. 
General  Baker's  declination,  although  issued  on  Septem- 
ber 4th,  was  not  made  public  until  after  the  new  ticket 
had  been  made  out,352  while  Mr.  Noble's  refusal  was  not 
made  public  until  October,  and  bore  no  date  of  issue.353 
But  Mr.  Noble  had,  before  this  time,  given  a  clear  exposi- 
tion of  his  position,  which  shows  him  to  have  been  a  con- 
sistent non-partisan  advocate.354  A  faction  of  the 
" Union"  party,  consisting  almost  exclusively  of  Demo- 
crats and  former  Constitutional  Union  men,  still  insisted 
upon  playing  the  game  to  a  finish;  and  so  a  remnant  of 
the  " Central  Committee"  met  to  fill  the  two  vacancies 

351  Iowa  State  Register,  September  18,  1861. 

352  Iowa  State  Register,  September  18,  1861. 

353  Iowa  State  Register,  October  2,  1861. 

354  Mr.  Noble  had  not  been  in  favor  of  a  Union  party  convention  and  did 
not  attend  the  convention.     Besides  this,  he  had  written  Mr.  A.  J.  Stevens 
to  the  effect  that  under  no  circumstances  would  he  become  a  candidate.    He 
had  been  urged  by  Republicans  to  become  a  candidate  for  Governor  against 
Kirkwood,  but  as  he  himself  explained  this  a  few  days  after  the  " Union" 
convention:  "My  answer  invariably  was,  that  I  am  opposed  to  Republican 
nominations".     That  is,  he  was  opposed  to  partisanship  of  all  kinds,  and 
urged  the  Union  convention  in  August  to  name  Kirkwood  for  Governor,  a 
Northern  Democrat  for  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  to  support  Judge  Lowe 
for  reelection. —  Iowa  State  Register,  September  4,  1861. 


130  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

on  their  ticket.  They  named  Lincoln  Clark  for  Governor 
and  Martin  D.  McHenry  for  Judge.355 

But  now  the  Democrats  had  to  secure  Colonel  Mer- 
ritt  's  consent  to  head  the  new  ticket,  and  to  carry  out  the 
very  delicate  business  of  notifying  Judge  Mason  of  his 
shelving  and  to  secure  his  apparently  voluntary  declina- 
tion of  the  nomination  for  the  office  of  Governor.  For 
these  tasks  special  committees  were  appointed,  J.  W. 
Griffith  being  assigned  the  duty  of  carrying  the  news  to 
Mason,  and  Dan  0.  Finch  and  Dr.  A.  Y.  Hull  a  committee 
to  notify  Colonel  Merritt  of  his  promotion. 

The  scheme  worked,  and  two  days  later  Judge  Mason 
sent  his  letter  of  withdrawal356  to  J.  M.  Todd,  chairman 
of  the  Democratic  State  Central  Committee.  Mr.  Todd 
at  once  issued  a  circular  to  the  " Democracy  of  Iowa"357 
informing  them  of  the  new  coalition  ticket.  They  were 
informed  that  both  Mason  for  Governor  and  Merritt  for 
Lieutenant-Governor  had  declined  to  accept,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  practice  the  State  Committee  was  empowered 
to  fill  vacancies.  It  is  true  that  Mason  did,  under  the 
above  described  circumstances  withdraw,  but  Merritt  had 
not  yet  accepted.  Nevertheless,  the  Committee  an- 
nounced the  new  ticket  with  Colonel  Merrit  for  Governor 
and  recommended  a  vigorous,  State-wide  campaign.358 

The  fusion  thus  accomplished  neither  won  the  support 
nor  allayed  the  fears  of  the  factions.  The  ills  besetting 
the  Democracy  were  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  Mahoney  dic- 

sss  Iowa  State  Eegister,  September  18,  1861. 

356  " Burlington,  Iowa,  Sept.  20,   1861.     Dear  Sir: — Circumstances  have 
induced  me  to  withdraw  my  name  as  a  candidate   for  Governor.     I   now 
notify  you  of  the  fact,  that  you  may  act  accordingly.     Yours  truly,  Chas. 
Mason.     To  O.  M.  Todd,  Esq.,  Chairman  Central  Committee. ' ' —  Burlington 
HawJceye,  September  21,  1861. 

357  Circular  in  Iowa  State  Eegister,  September  25,  1861. 

358  Burlington  HawTceye  September  21,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  131 

tatorship.  The  Davenport  Democrat,  because  of  the 
withdrawal  of  Mason,  removed  the  Democratic  ticket 
from  its  columns  and  proposed  to  be  bound  by  nothing 
which  the  State  Central  Committee  might  do.359  Several 
other  papers  continued  to  support  the  deposed  candidate, 
Mr.  Mason,360  while  editor  Sylvester  came  out  with  the 
Democratic  ticket  in  blank.  The  Todd  circular  was  an- 
swered by  L.  W.  Babbitt  of  the  Council  Bluffs  Bugle,  who 
showed  his  independence  by  declaring  that  "having  al- 
ways been  a  Democrat  and  never  a  chattel,  we  don't  feel 
inclined  to  be  sold  out  to  the  Abolition  party  at  this 
time".361  His  opposition  of  course  was  to  Colonel  Mer- 
ritt,  the  soldier  candidate. 

At  the  ante-bellum  Democratic  center,  Iowa  City,  the 
opposition  took  organic  form.  It  was  the  first  appear- 
ance of  what  came  to  be  known  as  the  Byington  Democ- 
racy, the  negative  peace  wing  of  the  party.  On  Thurs- 
day, September  26th,  at  Iowa  City,  pursuant  to  a  call 
issued  on  the  24th  by  Mr.  LeGrand  Byington  to  the  Dem- 
ocratic visitors  in  attendance  upon  the  State  Fair,  was 
held  an  "impromptu  meeting".  This  meeting  was  or- 
ganized with  A.  T.  Groendyke  of  Washington  County  for 
chairman,  and  E.  M.  Long  of  Cedar  County  as  secretary. 
A  State  ticket  was  named  and  a  platform  adopted.  Ben 
M.  Samuels  was  named  for  Governor,  Colonel  Jesse  Wil- 
liams for  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  for  Supreme  Judge, 
J.  M.  Ellwood  was  accepted.362  An  attempt  was  made  by 
Samuel  Fairall  to  substitute  the  name  of  Colonel  W.  H. 
Merritt  for  that  of  Samuels,  but  it  was  decisively  reject- 
ed —  elsewise  what  was  the  need  for  this  newest  party ! 

359  Davenport  Democrat,  September  22,  1861. 
seo  Iowa  State  Register,  October  4,  1861. 

361  Quoted  in  Iowa  State  Register,  October  2,  1861. 

362  Iowa  State  Press,  September  27,  1861. 


132  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

The  platform  consisted  of  five  resolves,  which  declared 
loyalty  to  the  old  Democratic  ideals  and  principles. 
Nothing  was  said  on  the  issues  of  the  day  —  local  or  na- 
tional.363 

While  groups  of  Democrats  were  thus  hunting  for  a 
party  and  making  new  slates,  Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr.,364 
a  War  Democrat  enlisted  in  the  service,  wrote  a  letter  on 
the  duty  of  loyal  citizens  to  the  war.  This  in  the  form  of 
a  fifteen-page  pamphlet365  scattered  broadcast  by  the  Ee- 
publican  State  Committee,  made  excellent  "campaign 
literature",  since  the  logic  of  it  was  the  support  of  the 
Eepublican  party  on  the  part  of  War  Democrats  and 
" Union"  men.  This  and  similar  instances  had  their  ef- 
fect on  the  course  of  the  campaign. 

The  "Fusion"  movement  in  fact  began  to  crumble  with 
its  mere  launching.  The  bickerings  and  uncertainties  of 
all  the  opposition  combinations  hurt  their  cause  beyond 
redemption,  and  when  election  day  came,  the  result  was 
a  foregone  conclusion.  There  had  been  little  campaign- 
ing of  the  old-fashioned  kind.  The  Eepublicans  main- 
tained their  partisan  policy  and  successfully  expounded 
the  doctrine  that  working  with  them  meant  upholding 
the  Government  and  the  Union,  while  working  with  any 
and  all  of  the  opposition  combinations  meant  the  break- 
up of  the  Union,  and  the  realization  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy. 

The  election  returns  showed  that  Governor  Kirkwood 
had  carried  the  State  by  a  plurality  of  16,608  and  by  a 

363  Iowa  State  Register,  October  2,  1861. 

se*  Mr.  Benton  was  the  nephew  of  United  States  Senator  Thomas  H. 
Benton,  and  for  fifteen  years  had  figured  prominently  in  Iowa  politics.  He 
held  the  office  of  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  at  the  out- 
break of  the  War. 

ses  Iowa  State  Register,  October  2,  1861. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  KECONSTRUCTION  PEEIOD  133 

majority  of  11,534.366  The  relative  position  of  the  two 
parties  remained  about  the  same  as  in  1860.  The  sur- 
prising thing  is  that  the  Republican  vote  was  not  greater. 
That  there  was  an  organized  attack  on  Kirkwood  is 
doubtless  true;  for  Mr.  Needham's  vote  was  considerably 
larger,  while  Judge  Lowe  reached  the  largest  plurality 
ever  attained  —  20,000,  there  being  1,835  votes  cast  for 
McHenry  and  496  for  Noble.  Colonel  Merritt's  vote  was 
swelled  by  the  "Union"  party  men;  but  to  balance  that, 
there  were  the  votes  for  Samuels,  Dean,  and  Mason, 
which  represented  the  different  Democratic  groups  gath- 
ering about  their  personal  favorites.  The  Democrats 
carried  only  twenty  counties,  though  this  was  somewhat 
shifted  in  the  votes  for  Judge  and  for  Congressman. 
The  Republicans  not  only  won  over  a  number  of  counties 
from  their  opponents,  but  carried  six  counties  unan- 
imously—  Harrison,  Shelby,  Winnebago,  Winneshiek, 
Emmett  and  Crawford,  and  in  four  others  they  secured 
almost  all  the  votes. 

The  vote  for  Congressman  was,  for  Wilson  29,323,  and 
for  Neal  21,429,  while  over  1,000  were  cast  for  Edwards, 
besides  scattering  votes  for  nine  other  persons.  The  Re- 
publican triumph  is  most  marked  in  the  legislative  vote. 
Of  the  twenty  senators  (there  were  twenty-six  hold-overs 
-fourteen  Republicans  and  twelve  Democrats)  the 
Democrats  secured  but  two ;  while  the  House  stood  sixty- 
two  Republicans,  thirty  Democrats,  and  two  Unionists. 
The  result  of  the  election  on  the  whole,  was  to  strengthen 
the  Republican  administration,  less,  however,  by  added 
numbers  than  by  a  breaking-up  of  the  opposition  party. 

see  Vote  for  Governor :  Kirkwood,  59,853 ;  Merritt,  43,245 ;  Samuels,  4,492 ; 
Dean,  463;   M]ason,  119. — Election  Archives  for  1861. 


CHAPTEE  VI 
EETUEN  TO  PAETY  SOLID AEITY 

THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OP  1862 

The  election  ended  the  bitter  party  contest.  The 
"  Union  Movement "  for  the  time  being  was  dead,  and 
political  campaigning  gave  place  to  law-making,  the  hunt- 
ing down  of  treason,  and  the  all-absorbing  prosecution  of 
the  war.  To  be  sure,  in  all  these  things  politics  played  a 
part,  especially  in  the  winter 's  legislative  affairs. 

The  Ninth  General  Assembly  convened  on  January  11, 
1862,  and  the  Eepublican  regime  was  re-inaugurated. 
Governor  Kirkwood  in  his  inaugural  address367  re- 
viewed the  sectional  strife,  placed  the  responsibility  for 
the  war,  pictured  its  progress  and  horrors,  gave  assur- 
ance that  the  policy  of  the  National  and  the  State  govern- 
ments would  be  continued,  and  sounded  an  unmistakable 
warning  that  emancipation  was  coming.  In  his  mes- 
sage368 to  the  legislature  he  dwelt  upon  the  military  and 
financial  conditions  of  the  State,  and  recommended  re- 
medial legislation,  especially  in  connection  with  the  mili- 
tia, the  collection  of  taxes,  currency,  and  expenditures. 

The  legislature  was  Eepublican,  more  than  two  to  one ; 
and  although  the  partisan  spirit  was  tense,  one  contested 
election  in  the  House  was  decided  in  favor  of  the  Demo- 
crats.369 Moreover,  two  vacancies  in  the  Senate,  one  the 
seat  of  a  Democrat,  were  filled,  after  much  delay  and  fili- 

367  Senate  Journal,  1862,  pp.  37-45. 

ses  Shambaugh  's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa, 
Vol.  II,  pp.  364-395. 

369  Iowa  State  Register,  February  5,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  135 

bustering  on  the  part  of  Republicans,  by  seating  the  two 
Democrats  knocking  for  admission,  notwithstanding  an 
adverse  decision  by  Attorney  General  Nourse.370  In  a 
special  election  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  Warren  County,  the 
Democrats  also  gained  a  member,  because  of  the  intestine 
strife  of  two  Republican  factions.371 

Again,  in  nearly  all  the  legislation  of  the  session,  party 
divisions  were  quite  marked.  Among  the  many  joint  res- 
olutions, some  of  which  were  political,  the  most  signifi- 
cant one  was  that  of  May  29th,  "Complimentary  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States".372  It  was  an  unquali- 
fied endorsement  of  the  National  policy  and  promised 
continued  support,  and  of  course  was  passed  by  a  strict 
party  vote. 

The  legislation  was  remedial  in  character.  The  draft- 
ing law  was  amended,373  and  additional  assistance  was 
provided  for  the  Adjutant  General.374  The  popular  de- 
mand for  the  payment  of  taxes  in  currency,  which  Gov- 
ernor Kirkwood  also  recommended,375  was  met  by  the 
Bank  Note  law,376  and  approved  February  17th.  But  the 
almost  equally  popular  demand  for  an  income  tax  law  and 
retrenchment  in  public  expenditures  met  with  defeat. 
The  income  tax  bill  failed  to  pass,  while  the  retrench- 
ment bill  was  vetoed  by  the  Governor,  on  the  ground  that 
it  reduced  the  salaries  of  judges,  which  were  already  too 

370  Senate  Journal,  1862,  pp.  51,  52. 

37i Said  editor  Palmer:  "Want  of  unanimity  among  ^Republicans  is  all 
right  in  National  politics,  but  dangerous  in  local  politics. ' ' —  Iowa  State 
Eegister,  February  19,  1862. 

372  Laws  of  Iowa,  1862,  p.  247. 

373  Laws  of  Iowa,  1862,  pp.  235,  236. 

374  Laws  of  Iowa,  1862,  p.  252. 

375  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa, 
Vol.  II,  pp.  274,  275. 

376  Laws  of  Iowa,  1862,  pp.  15-17. 


136  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

small.  The  Governor,  however,  was  generally  upheld  by 
Republican  politicians,377  and  the  Democrats  were  fur- 
nished with  an  issue  for  the  coming  campaign.  There 
was  some  attempt  at  railroad  regulation,  but  nothing  of 
importance  was  accomplished.  The  legislation  which 
aroused  the  greatest  political  interest  was,  of  course,  the 
redistricting  of  the  State  for  Representatives  in  Con- 
gress and  for  members  of  the  legislature. 

Iowa  had  secured  her  second  Congressman  after  the 
census  of  1850,  but  now  by  the  census  of  1860,  the  popu- 
lation having  increased  two  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent, 
the  State  was  entitled  to  several  more  Representatives 
in  Congress.  By  an  act378  of  Congress  March  4,  1862, 
provision  was  made  for  a  House  of  two  hundred  and 
forty-one  Representatives,  upon  a  ratio  of  127,941,  which 
gave  to  Iowa  four  additional  Representatives,  making  six 
in  all.  This  act  not  only  strengthened  the  Republican  su- 
premacy in  Congress,  but  fairly  intoxicated  the  Iowa  pol- 
iticians on  account  of  the  large  increase  in  the  number  of 
the  State's  Representatives.  The  General  Assembly  at 
once  set  about  properly  to  re-district  the  State.  .The 
Democratic  minority  pleaded  in  all  fairness  for  at  least 
one  or  two  districts,  but  the  Republicans  conceded  noth- 
ing ;  nor  could  they  be  expected  to  be  concessive,  since  to 
them  the  cause  of  the  National  Government  and  the  in- 
terests of  the  Republican  party  were  one.379 

The  congressional  re-districting  bill  was  introduced  on 

377  Iowa  State  Register,  April  16,  1862. 

378  United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  Vol.  XII,  p.  353. 

379 Said  the  Des  Moines  correspondent  to  the  Washington  [D.  C.]  Press: 
1 '  We  cannot  sit  here  and  watch  the  Democrats  take  the  war  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  people,  and  carry  it  on  for  themselves,  in  order  to  resuscitate  their 
defunct  organization,  without  understanding  that  they  are  laboring  to  re- 
gain the  power  they  have  lost  more  than  for  any  other  purpose. ' ' —  Quoted 
in  the  Iowa  State  Eegister,  February  26,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  137 

March  25th  by  Representative  J.  P.  Eaton,  and  passed 
the  House  on  the  same  day  by  a  vote  of  fifty-three  to 
twenty-two.380  It  was  amended  in  the  Senate,381  but  the 
House  refusing  to  concur,  it  went  through  the  hands  of 
two  conference  committees  before  an  agreement  could  be 
reached,  and  finally  on  the  closing  day  of  the  session, 
April  8th,  passed  both  houses.382  The  act383  provided  for 
six  districts,384  five  full  and  one  fractional.  Out  of  the 
old  First  District  were  made  districts  One,  Four  (with 
several  counties  of  the  old  Second)  and  Five;  districts 
Two,  Three  and  Six  were  carved  out  of  the  old  Second 
District.  The  election  of  1860  was  taken  as  the  political 
cue  for  the  grouping  of  the  counties.  An  examination  of 
this  grouping385  will  show  the  unevenness  of  the  Lincoln 
vote  in  the  new  districts,  the  reason  for  this  being  the 
fact  that  in  the  counties  composing  districts  Two  and 
Three  the  Eepublican  majorities  of  1860  were  greatly  re- 
duced in  1861 ;  in  the  counties  of  the  Fourth  district  even, 
where  Lincoln's  majority  had  been  1,325,  Kirkwood's 
was  only  448.386  The  gerrymandering  is  quite  noticeable 
in  the  boundary  lines  between  districts  Three  and  Six,  as 
also  between  the  Fourth  and  the  adjacent  districts. 

In  the  apportionment  of  the  State  into  Senatorial  and 
Representative  districts,  the  gerrymander  could  of  course 
be  used  only  where  it  was  necessary  to  combine  counties 

sso  House  Journal,  1862,  p.  692. 

381  Senate  Journal,  1862,  pp.  550,  564,  580,  586. 

382  Senate  Journal,  1862,  p.  595. 
sss  Laws  of  Iowa,  1862,  p.  182. 

ss*  See  maps  of  the  old  and  the  new  Congressional  Districts  in  The  Iowa 
Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol.  I,  pp.  357,  358. 

sss  Schedule  showing  the  Eepublican  majorities  of  1860  in  the  counties 
composing  the  new  districts:  (1)  1501,  (2)  3827,  (3)  2564,  (4)  1325,  (5) 
1007,  (6)  2263. 

386  in  the  Muscatine  Daily  Courier  of  July  21st,  Mr.  Thayer  analyzed  the 
politics  involved  in  the  redistricting. 


138  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

to  form  a  district.  The  Democrats  consequently  had  a 
fair  degree  of  representation;  and  although  they  gener- 
ally favored  a  larger  population  ratio,  yet  had  such  been 
adopted,  they  must  have  fared  worse  than  they  did,  since 
that  would  have  made  fewer  districts  and  thus  a  larger 
working  of  the  gerrymander. 

The  Senatorial  apportionment  act,387  approved  March 
5,  1862,  created  forty-three  districts  and  provided  for 
forty-six  Senators,  one  for  each  17,200  inhabitants ;  while 
the  Representative  apportionment  act,388  approved  April 
8,  1862,  established  sixty-six  districts  with  eighty-nine 
Representatives,  on  a  basis  of  one  for  each  8,500  inhabit- 
ants. By  an  examination  of  the  map389  one  is  struck  with 
the  paucity  of  settlement  of  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
State.  In  only  three  counties,  and  these  located  on  the 
eastern  border  of  the  State  —  Lee,  Scott  and  Dubuque  — 
was  the  population  of  each  county  sufficient  to  send  more 
than  one  Senator  to  the  legislature.  Seventeen  counties 
could  send  two  Representatives  each,  Warren  being  the 
farthest  west;  two  counties  were  entitled  to  three  each, 
while  one  county  could  send  four.  As  will  be  seen,  the 
Republicans  made  great  gains  in  the  election  of  the  next 
General  Assembly,  but  it  was  due  more  to  political  issues 
than  to  the  re-apportionment. 

THE    FIRST    INDICTMENTS    FOR    TREASON 

Many  Northern  States  during  the  war  were  compelled 
to  combat  " treason  at  home".  Iowa  was  no  exception. 
The  detection  of  treason  and  the  punishment  of  traitors 
was,  as  with  the  National  Government,  one  of  the  per- 

387  Laws  of  Iowa,  1862,  p.  118. 

388  Laws  of  Iowa,  1862,  (p.  199. 

389  See  maps  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol.  II,  pp.  570, 
572. 


CIVIL   WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  139 

plexities  of  the  State  authorities.  The  Bepublicans  nat- 
urally came  to  class  all  forms  of  opposition  as  treason 
and  all  opponents  as  traitors.  Democrats  were  esteemed 
loyal  so  long  as  they  were  in  the  military  service,  or  if 
upon  their  return  they  joined  the  Eepublican  party;  but 
those  opposing  the  war  or  the  Government's  policy  in  its 
prosecution,  were  held  to  be  traitors.  The  terms  Demo- 
crat and  traitor  became  synonymous.  The  State  early  be- 
gan to  ferret  out  treason  within  its  borders,  or  to  assist 
the  General  Government  in  the  work.  Governor  Kirk- 
wood  in  his  message  to  the  extra  session  of  the  legislature 
in  May,  1861,  appealing  to  the  loyalty  of  the  people, 
pressed  home  the  necessity  for  punishing  all  forms  of 
treasonable  aid  to  those  in  rebellion.390 

The  first  indictment  for  treason  in  Iowa  was  returned 
on  Monday,  November  25,  1861,  against  William  M.  Hill, 
Democratic  Clerk  of  Harrison  County.  His  offence  was 
writing  a  letter  (May  14,  1861)  to  one  Wendell,  editor  of 
the  Union  Democrat  of  Monroe  County,  Virginia,  in 
which  he  not  only  expressed  warm  sympathies  for  the 
Confederacy,  but  used  abusive  language  against  the  Fed- 
eral Government.391  The  letter,  failing  to  reach  its  des- 
tination, came  back  via  the  Dead  Letter  Office,  to  Mag- 
nolia, Iowa,  where  Hill's  deputy,  J.  L.  DeForest,  received 
it  and  exposed  its  contents.  Mr.  Hill  was  arrested,  and 
upon  this  letter,  besides  oral  testimony,  was  indicted.  C. 
C.  Cole  and  S.  V.  White  were  employed  for  the  defence, 
while  the  prosecution  was  in  the  hands  of  the  United 
States  District  Attorney,  W.  H.  F.  Gurley.  The  case  was 
tried  on  January  7, 1862,  a  nolle  prosequi  was  entered  and 
Hill  was  discharged.  But  subsequently  the  United  States 

390  Shambaugh  's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa, 
Vol.  II,  p.  263. 

391  Letter  published  in  the  Iowa  State  Register,  November  27,  1861. 


140  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Marshal,  H.  M.  Hoxie,  by  order  of  Secretary  Seward, 
arrested  Hill  and  started  with  him  for  Fort  Lafayette. 
The  counsel  for  defence  telegraphed  persons  at  Daven- 
port to  swear  out  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus;  it  was  done 
and  Mr.  Hoxie  was  detained.  But  the  next  morning  the 
marshal  cut  the  meshes  woven  by  the  shrewd  lawyers 
and  proceeded  with  his  prisoner.  The  episode  created 
intense  excitement.  The  Eepublicans  chuckled  and  gen- 
erally applauded  the  act;  the  moderate  Democrats  criti- 
cized the  authorities ;  while  the  Confederate  sympathizers 
howled  with  rage.  The  object  of  course  was  to  make  an 
example  of  Hill  and  thus  strike  terror  to  all  "traitors".392 
It  was  not -long  before  another  arrest  was  made  in 
Iowa,  this  time  in  the  person  of  ex-Senator,  and  now  ex- 
Minister  ^o  Bogota,  George  W.  Jones.  He  was  arrested 
on  Christmas  Day,  1861,  and  was  sent  to  Fort  Lafayette. 
The  indictment  was  based  upon  a  letter  written,  while  in 
South  America,  to  Jefferson  Davis,  in  which  he  said :  "  As 
soon  as  I  settle  my  accounts  with  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, I  shall  join  the  Confederate  army  myself."393  Mr. 
Jones,  however,  was  not  imprisoned  long;  for  by  order 
of  President  Lincoln  he  was  paroled  on  February  22d, 
the  only  condition  being  that,  on  his  honor,  he  render  no 
aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy.394  These  arrests,  it  was 
asserted,  effectually  checked  treason.  Some  of  the  Demo- 
cratic leaders,  however,  were  quite  bold  in  expressing 
themselves  and  defiant  toward  the  Government;  while 
many  Eepublicans  were  anxious  for  an  excuse  to  arrest 
some  such  person.  Henry  Clay  Dean  was  a  special  ob- 
ject of  hatred  and  suspicion.  He  went  over  the  State 

392  loiva  State  Register,  January  15,  1862. 

393  Two  of  Mr.  Jones's  sons  had  already  joined,  as  also  a  son  of  ex-Gov- 
ernor Hempstead. —  Iowa  State  Register,  January  1,  1862. 

394  Iowa  State  Register,  January  29,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAX  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PEEIOD  141 

making  speeches  and  addressing  "conclaves  of  trai- 
tors*',395 yet  the  authorities  could  not  catch  him  in  crim- 
inal utterances. 

The  so-called  "  conclaves "  were  the  meetings  of  the 
lodges  of  the  K.  G.  C.—  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle  —  a 
secession  organization  claiming  a  membership  of  10,000 
in  the  State.  It  was  a  secret  organization,  having  a  weird 
mystical  ritualism  with  an  elaborate  ceremony,  and  was 
governed  by  a  hierarchy  equal  to  the  later  Ku  Klux  Klan 
of  the  South.  The  members,  boastful  and  even  threaten- 
ing, were  much  feared  by  the  people.  Some  of  the  leading 
Democratic  politicians  were  in  active  cooperation  with 
them.  The  arch-offender  in  this  respect  was  editor  D.  A. 
Mahoney,  who  in  order  to  satisfy  the  clamor  for  another 
example,  was  on  August  15th,  1862,  arrested  for  treason- 
able utterances,  both  through  his  paper  and  in  conversa- 
tion.396 Two  days  later  David  Sheward  of  the  Fairfield 
Union  and  Constitution  was  arrested  on  the  same  charge, 
and  together  with  Mahoney  was  carried  off  to  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  and  with  others  of  their  ilk  lodged  in  the  old 
capitol  —  the  traitor 's  prison.  This  was  during  the  cam- 
paign, and  of  course  the  Republicans  did  not  escape  the 
accusation  of  having  made  political  arrests,  while  Ma- 
honey was  regarded  as  a  "martyr  to  liberty".397  He  was 
confined  until  after  the  election  in  November,  when  he 
was  discharged  upon  taking  the  prescribed  oath.  All 
through  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1862  the  authorities 
were  kept  busy  ferreting  out  K.  G.  C.  lodges,398  especially 
on  the  southern  border  of  the  State,  where  they  were  in 

sss  Iowa  State  Register,  January  29,  1862. 

sse/owa  State  Register,  August  20,  1862. 

397  Dubuque  Herald,  August  21 ;  Iowa  State  Register,  August  27,  1862. 

398/owa  State  Register,  August  27,  1862. 


142  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

touch  with  the  Missouri  lodges.399  But  this  was  only  the 
beginning  of  the  trouble  with  the  K.  G.  C  's. 

Treason  became  so  odious  that  the  least  opposition  or 
indifference  to  the  Government  was  branded  as  such. 
The  people  of  Davis  County  were  even  required  to  defend 
the  mere  name  of  their  county.400  They  had  to  explain 
that  it  was  not  named  for  "Jeff"  Davis,  President  of  the 
Confederacy,  but  for  Garrett  Davis,  the  loyal  United 
States  Senator  of  Kentucky.  Illustrative  of  the  time  was 
the  action  of  the  legislature  in  voting  to  change  the  name 
of  Buncombe  County  to  that  of  Lyon,  in  honor  of  General 
Nathaniel  Lyon.401 

The  question  of  treason  came  up  in  the  extra  session  of 
the  legislature  in  September,  1862,  and  the  partisans 
clashed  squarely.  Some  Eepublicans  favored  drastic 
laws,  such  as  ineligibility  for  holding  office,402  and  an  iron- 
clad oath  for  all  voters,403  while  the  Democrats  demand- 
ed that  all  suspects  should  have  a  speedy  trial,  and  that  a 
military  court  be  established  in  the  State  for  such  pur- 
pose.404 Nothing  came  of  this  agitation,  however,  the  Re- 
publican majority  wisely  deciding  to  leave  the  law  as  it 
was. 

THE  POLITICAL  SITUATION 

While  Iowa  was  able  to  maintain  her  position  of  loy- 
alty, it  was  done  at  great  expense  and  through  constant 
vigilance;  and  although  the  Republicans  were  safely  in- 
trenched, yet  these  conspiracies  at  home,  and  the  constant 
outpouring  of  her  people  to  fill  the  depleted  ranks  on  the 

399  Iowa  State  Register,  September  17,  1862. 

400  Iowa  State  Register,  March  26,  1862. 

401  Laws  of  Iowa,  1862  (Extra  Session),  p.  22. 

402  House  Journal,  1862   (Extra  Session),  pp.  17,  18. 

403  House  Journal,  1862   (Extra  Session),  pp.  28,  72. 

404  House  Journal,  1862   (Extra  Session),  p.  33. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  143 

field  and  to  meet  the  new  quotas,  taxed  even  loyal  Iowa 
to  the  point  of  breaking  and  endangering  the  party  in 
power.  Beyond  this,  the  defeats  during  the  fall  and  win- 
ter, the  increasingly  drastic  legislation  of  Congress,  and 
the  new  phase  of  the  situation,  that  of  emancipation,  to- 
gether with  the  appearance  of  wandering  fugitives  from 
the  South,  created  grave  political  questions.  These 
things  required  that  the  Eepublicans  should,  as  they  did, 
take  precaution  and  enact  such  legislation  as  would  en- 
sure their  military  efficiency,  financial  security,  and  po- 
litical supremacy.  The  Democrats  made  some  telling 
charges  against  the  party405  and  especially  attacked  Con- 
gress.406 Besides  this,  some  Eepublicans  feared  all  along 
what  the  Democrats  came  to  predict,  a  reaction  within  the 
party,407  but  the  leaders  during  the  spring  and  summer 
of  1862  planned  against  a  repetition  of  the  ' '  Union ' '  bolt 
from  the  party.  They  followed  the  same  partisan  policy 
so  triumphantly  carried  out  at  the  previous  fall  elections, 
by  discrediting  Democracy,  rewarding  the  War  Demo- 
crats, and  substantially  recognizing  all  elements  within 
their  own  party. 

The  Democratic  problem  was  similar  to  that  of  the  Ee- 
publicans, in  that  the  leaders  feared  a  further  desertion, 
although  they  got  some  encouragement  from  the  signs  of 
reaction  in  the  Eepublican  party.408  By  accepting  the 
war  now  they  might  even  hope  to  win  back  the  War  Dem- 
ocrats, and  make  a  fight  upon  the  party  in  power  because 
of  its  drastic  legislation  in  Congress.  Then  by  drawing 
the  line  on  emancipation,  they  might  even  hope  to  win 
over  some  Eepublicans.  Thus  while  the  party  had  alien- 

405  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  July  16,  1862. 

406  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  July,  14,  1862. 

407  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  July  9,  1862. 

408  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  July  9,  1862. 


144  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

ated  such  men  as  Adjutant  General  Baker,  M.  M.  Crocker, 
W.  W.  Belknap,  J.  A.  Williamson,  C.  C.  Cole,  H.  C.  Eip- 
pey,  and  Thos.  H.  Benton,  Jr.,  as  well  as  others  less  in- 
fluential, the  unfaithful  ones  might  by  a  fortuitous  turn 
of  events  be  brought  back,  since  some  of  them  had  not 
yet  severed  political  connection  with  the  party. 

But  besides  these  more  prominent  dissentients  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  party  had  become  dissatisfied,  and  the 
party  solidarity  endangered.  The  party  machinery  was 
not  only  in  the  hands  of  those  whose  loyalty  was  constant- 
ly questioned,409  but  the  burden  of  maintaining  an  ef- 
ficient organization  became  too  great  for  the  few  leaders 
to  bear.  The  party  organs  suffered  reduced  patronage. 
Some  Democratic  papers  had  suspended  since  the  elec- 
tions of  1860  and  1861.  Mr.  Babbitt  of  the  Council  Bluffs 
Bugle,  in  May,  1862,  declared  that  unless  he  received  bet- 
ter support  for  his  paper,  he  would  have  to  write  his 
"valedictory".  This  was  regarded  by  Eepublicans  as  a 
good  omen;  for  " there  would  be  no  better  evidence  of 
loyalty  than  to  afford  him  the  opportunity  to  write  his 
valedictory  at  his  earliest  possible  convenience".410 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Democrats  did  not  win  back  the 
dissentients  —  men  whom  they  could  least  afford  to  lose 
—  but  on  the  contrary,  read  them  out  of  the  party.  The 
party  was  left  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  conservative, 
peace  Democrats,  who  also  adopted  a  strict  partisan  pol- 
icy. Both  parties  maintained  their  solidarity.  The  hesi- 
tating War  Democrats,  in  spite  of  the  hoped-for  efficacy 
of  the  anti-emancipation  program  projected  by  the  old 
leaders,  were  driven  into  the  arms  of  the  waiting  Eepub- 
licans. 

409  Jowa  State  Register,  March  14,  1862. 

410  Iowa  State  Register,  March  14,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  145 

THE  DEMOCRATIC  STATE  CONVENTION 

Iowa  had  a  political  campaign  every  year,  and  this 
year,  1862,  the  people  were  to  choose  a  relay  of  State  of- 
ficials, headed  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  As  we  have 
seen,  the  rapid  movement  of  affairs  in  the  late  winter  and 
spring  of  1862  made  the  political  forum  exceedingly  un- 
certain. The  shaping  of  events  indicated  that  the  Eepub- 
licans  would  be  compelled  to  defend  emancipation  as  one 
of  their  principles.  The  politicians  were  not  inclined  to 
press  the  issue,  nor  to  hurry  the  State  campaign.  The 
Democrats,  on  the  other  hand,  were  anxious  to  make 
emancipation  the  issue  and  to  force  the  campaign  upon 
the  Eepublicans ;  and  while  they  wished  the  Eepublicans 
to  lead  out,  they  early  began  to  consider  the  holding  of 
their  State  Convention.  Some  wished  the  convention  held 
in  June,411  others  later,  the  Davenport  Democrat,  piously 
patriotic,  suggesting  Independence  Day  as  the  most  ap- 
propriate time;412  but  nothing  was  done  until  the  Ee- 
publicans acted. 

On  June  llth  the  Eepublican  State  Central  Committee 
issued  a  call413  for  a  State  Convention  to  be  held  on  July 
23rd  at  Des  Moines.  As  in  1861  it  was  to  be  a  strictly 
partisan  convention,  but  "all  loyal  citizens  regardless  of 
former  political  associations "  were  urged  to  join  them. 
Two  weeks  later  G.  M.  Todd,  State  Chairman,  sent  out  a 
call414  for  the  Democratic  State  Convention  to  assemble 
at  Des  Moines  on  the  17th  of  July,  hoping  thus  to  put  the 

411  Iowa  State  Press,  April  7,  1862. 

412  The  Iowa  State  Register  of  April  9,  1862,  thought  it  appropriate  for 
the  Democracy,  "in  the  absence  of  a  healthy  enthusiasm  in  the  party,  to  in- 
ject a  little  Fourth  of  July  pyrotechnics  into  the  State  Convention,  and  thus 
be  galvanized  into  something  lively ' '. 

413  Iowa  State  Register,  June  11,  1862. 

414  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  June  25,  1862. 

10 


146  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Eepublicans  at  a  disadvantage  by  anticipating  their  ut- 
terances with  an  anti-emancipation  declaration.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  note  that  for  the  first  time  the  apportionment 
of  delegates  was  to  be  based  upon  "the  vote  cast  for 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  in  1860". 

The  Democrats  assembled  with  about  one  hundred  dele- 
gates representing  fifty  counties.  Most  counties  had  but 
one  delegate  each,  and  many  were  appointed  after  the 
fashion  of  the  pocket  borough  system  of  old  England ;  but 
in  a  few  counties  the  party  held  "monster  mass-meet- 
ings ",415  as  at  Cedar  Eapids,416  Muscatine,  and  a  few 
other  places,  which  carried  the  leaders  back  to  earlier 
days  and  caused  them  to  predict  a  "rising  of  the  people 
during  the  summer 's  campaign".417 

The  old-time  leaders  were  in  the  saddle,  though  there 
were  some  of  the  active  young  Democrats  in  this  Conven- 
tion, among  them  Henry  M.  Martin  of  Iowa  County,  who 
was  temporary  chairman ;  while  the  permanent  chairman 
was  I.  B.  Thomas  of  Buchanan  County.  With  the  dis- 
sentients out  of  the  way,  the  convention  was  on  the  whole 
quite  harmonious  and  enthusiastic.  At  only  two  points 
was  the  meeting  embarrassed:  in  making  up  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions,418  and  during  the  speech-making, 
while  waiting  for  the  committee's  report.419 

Those  who  made  speeches  were  T.  W.  Claggett,  W.  IL 
Merritt,  M.  V.  B.  Bennett,  J.  C.  Turk  and  C.  C.  Cole.  Mr. 
Turk  spoke  of  the  glory  of  a  by-gone  Democracy;  Mr. 

415  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  June  25,  1862. 

416  Iowa  State  Register,  July  23,  1862. 

417  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  June  26,  1862. 

418  Committee  on  Resolutions :    A.  C.  Dodge,  Chairman,  George  Gillaspie,. 
Fred  Rector,  J.  M.  Ellwood,  Charles  Negus,  Phil.  Bradley,  N.  J.   Sayles,. 
J.  F.  Buncombe,  D.  A.  Miahoney. 

419  Proceedings  in  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  July  21,  25,  and  28,  1862;  also 
in  Iowa  State  Register,  July  23,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  147 

Claggett  harangued  against  the  Lincoln  administration; 
while  Colonel  Merritt,  a  veteran  of  the  first  enlistments, 
able  to  speak  with  authority  on  the  war,  declared  that  he 
was  convinced  that  it  was  an  abolition  war,  for  the  free- 
dom of  the  negro  and  for  the  enslavement  of  the  white 
race.  It  was  for  Mr.  Cole  to  appeal  to  his  once  proud  ad- 
mirers and  beg  that  they  take  no  equivocal  position  in  the 
crisis.  Those  in  arms  against  the  Government,  he  held, 
were  alone  responsible  for  the  war.  As  for  himself,  he 
was  a  Democrat  upon  the  platform  of  1856,  a  Douglas 
Democrat  as  distinguished  from  all  Breckinridges.  His 
speech  was  received  in  absolute  silence,  except  for  the  ap- 
plause from  the  Eepublicans  in  the  audience. 

At  the  evening  session  the  Convention  adopted  a  plat- 
form and  named  the  ticket,  both  with  signal  unanimity. 
General  Dodge  reported  the  resolutions,  which  were  simi- 
lar to  the  Democratic  declarations  for  the  past  eighteen 
months.  The  platform,  however,  was  distinctive  in  two 
particulars:  first,  the  party  now  accepted  the  war,  and 
second,  they  denounced  emancipation.  They  would  have 
no  more  war  "than  necessary  and  proper  for  the  prompt 
and  complete  suppression  of  the  rebellion'7.  The  anti- 
emancipation  clauses  affirmed  that  the  Government  was 
"for  white  men"  and  pointed  to  the  joint  resolution  of 
Congress  of  July  21,  1861,  as  a  vindication  of  their  posi- 
tion that  the  war  was  not  to  become  an  abolition  war. 

The  ticket  named  was :  Richard  H.  Sylvester  for  Secre- 
tary of  State ;  Samuel  L.  Lorah  for  Treasurer ;  Benton  J. 
Hall  for  Attorney  General;  John  Browne  for  Auditor; 
and  Fred  Gottschalk  for  Register.  This  was  an  orthodox 
body  of  men,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  previous  to  the 
Convention  the  Democratic  journals  were  exceedingly 
generous  in  naming  the  many  possibilities,  including  even 
War  Democrats,  who  it  was  known  had  already  joined  the 
Republicans. 


148  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

The  partisans  generally  applauded  both  the  ticket  and 
the  platform.  Editor  Thayer  thought  the  platform  ' '  one 
upon  which  every  man  not  already  wedded  to  radicalism 
can  stand  ".42°  The  Democrats  were  even  hopeful  of  win- 
ning over  those  who  could  not  go  the  lengths  of  Repub- 
lican radicalism,  and  invited  such,  not  to  connect  them- 
selves with  the  party,  as  the  Eepublicans  required,  but  to 
work  with  it  in  sustaining  the  "Constitution  and  the 
Union",  on  the  ground  that  "men  who  think  alike  must 
act  alike".  To  this  end  the  leaders  would  let  "by-gones 
be  by-gones".  But  Eepublicans  saw  in  the  platform  the 
same  treason  as  in  earlier  ones  and  warned  their  parti- 
sans to  beware.421 

THE  REPUBLICAN   STATE   CONVENTION 

The  Eepublicans  met  at  Des  Moines  on  July  23rd,  the 
Convention  being  called  to  order  by  Jacob  Butler.  D.  N. 
Cooley  was  temporary  chairman  and  Joshua  Tracy,  now 
a  full-fledged  Eepublican,  was  made  secretary.  There 
were  seventy-three  counties  represented  by  several  hun- 
dred delegates,  having  in  all  640  votes.  James  T.  Lane 
of  Davenport  was  elected  permanent  chairman,  and  be- 
sides the  regular  committees,  a  special  committee  on  the 
business  of  the  convention  was  chosen.422 

In  the  naming  of  a  ticket  the  harmony  of  the  Demo- 
crats was  caught  by  the  Eepublicans.  C.  C.  Nourse  for 
Attorney  General  and  J.  W.  Cattell  for  Auditor  were 
nominated  by  acclamation,  the  former  for  his  third  term 
and  the  latter  for  his  second.  There  was  some  "friendly 
rivalry"  in  filling  the  other  places  —  Secretary  of  State, 

420  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  July  21,  1862. 

421  Said  Mr.  Palmer:     " Jesuitically  insidious  as  is  the  phraseology   of 
these  resolutions,  they  are  little  short  of  treasonable ' '. —  Iowa  State  Register, 
July  23,  1862. 

422  Proceedings  in  Iowa  State  Register,  July  30,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  149 

Treasurer,  and  Register.  These  were  filled  respectively 
by  Dr.  James  Wright,  William  H.  Holmes,  and  A.  L.  Har- 
vey. Mr.  Holmes  had  served  in  the  legislature,  and  in  the 
recent  session  had  won  recognition  as  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  while  the  other  two  men 
were  comparatively  unknown;  Dr.  Wright  represented 
the  north-eastern  part  of  the  State  and  Mr.  Harvey  the 
south-western. 

The  evening  session  was  one  of  intense  enthusiasm,  and 
Sherman  Hall  was  crowded  to  hear  the  speeches.  Such 
well-known  leaders  as  Grinnell,  Nourse,  and  the  old 
wheel-horse,  Jacob  Butler,  addressed  the  Convention,  as 
did  also  the  newer  men,  Dr.  Wright,  E.  H.  Stiles,  and  C. 
W.  Kitridge;  but  the  interest  centered  in  the  maiden 
speeches  of  the  converts  to  Republicanism  —  Dilly  of 
Warren  County,  Joshua  Tracy  of  Des  Moines  County, 
and  Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr.  Editor  Palmer  regarded  it  as 
a  '  i  hopeful  sign  to  see  loyal  men  coming  out  of  the  ranks 
of  a  party  accursed  with  *ifs',  'buts'  and  l treason'  ". 

The  platform,423  reported  by  Frank  W.  Palmer  of  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions,  was  in  substance  a  duplicate 
of  the  one  of  1861,  there  being  no  indication  of  compro- 
mising issues  or  party.  In  the  resolutions  the  Repub- 
licans reviewed  the  events  of  the  year,  restated  their  spe- 
cific aims  and  pleaded  as  never  before  for  the  support  of 
the  War  Democrats.  These  were  asked  to  aid  in  "the 
struggle  of  Democratic  Republicanism  against  treason- 
ous aristocracy,  North  and  South " — a  rather  unusual 
juggling  of  words.  They  were  fulsome  in  their  welcome 
extended  to  the  former  Democrats  sitting  in  the  Conven- 
tion, and  invited  others  to  join,  commending  to  them  the 
"patriotic  words  of  the  lamented  Douglas",  namely: 
"There  are  only  two  sides  to  this  question.  Every  man 

423  Fairall  '*  Manual  of  Iowa  Politics,  Vol.  I,  pp.  62-64. 


150  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

must  be  for  the  United  States  or  against  it.  There  can  be 
no  neutrality  in  this  war  —  only  patriots  and  traitors. " 
As  to  the  one  new  issue,  that  of  emancipation,  they  de- 
clared "if,  as  a  last  measure  for  the  preservation  of  the 
republic,  it  shall  become  necessary  to  blot  the  institution 
of  slavery  from  the  soil  of  every  State,  we  will  say  Amen, 
letting  the  consequences  fall  upon  the  wicked  authors  of 
the  war  and  leaving  the  final  issues  with  God '  \  Of  course 
the  emphasis  was  on  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  but 
the  Convention  had  now  spoken  on  the  question  of  eman- 
cipation and  it  remained  to  be  seen  how  the  people  would 
regard  the  declaration,  and  what  its  effect  would  be  upon 
Eepublican  success. 

THE   CONGRESSIONAL   NOMINATIONS 

In  the  congressional  contest  of  1862  it  was  a  struggle 
for  the  control  of  the  newly  formed  districts.  The  Demo- 
crats were  sworn  to  deprive  the  Republicans  of  at  least 
a  portion  of  the  fruits  of  their  little  game  of  gerryman- 
dering in  the  formation  of  the  districts;  while  the  Re- 
publicans  were  determined  to  play  the  game  through. 
The  conventions  were  held  by  both  parties  soon  after  the 
State  Conventions,  the  Republicans  again  leading  off. 

According  to  the  action  taken  by  the  Republican  Con- 
vention of  the  old  First  District  at  Oskaloosa  on  June  20, 
1860,  the  duty  of  calling  congressional  conventions  in  the 
new  districts  to  be  formed  was  put  in  the  hands  of  the 
county  central  committees  within  each  district.  The  first 
step  was  taken  in  the  Fifth  District.  J.  B.  Steward, 
chairman  of  the  Polk  County  committee,  issued  a  letter424 
on  May  3rd  to  the  chairmen  of  the  Republican  county  cen- 
tral committees  of  the  district.  The  time  and  place  were 
to  be  decided  upon  by  them  in  their  responses  to  Mr. 

«4  Iowa  State  Register,  May  7,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD 

Steward.  A  month  later  the  formal  call425  was  issued, 
being  signed  by  eight  county  chairmen  —  all  that  re- 
sponded. 

It  was  decided  to  hold  the  convention  at  Winterset  on 
July  22nd.  The  other  Republican  conventions  were  also 
soon  called.  Three  of  them  were  held  on  August  6th :  the 
First  District  Convention  at  Mt.  Pleasant;426  that  of  the 
Third  at  West  Union  ;427  and  the  Fourth  at  Montezuma.428 
The  convention  of  the  Sixth  District  was  held  at  Webster 
City429  on  August  7th,  and  that  of  the  Second  on  August 
13th  at  DeWitt.430 

The  Democratic  conventions  were  held  later  in  August, 
the  calls  all  having  been  issued  after  the  State  Conven- 
tion. In  the  conventions  of  both  parties  there  was  con- 
siderable rivalry  for  nominations.  The  Democratic  con- 
tests for  the  nominations  were  sharp  in  two  conventions, 
the  Second  and  Third. 

In  the  First  District431  the  Republicans  re-nominated, 
without  a  rival,  James  F.  Wilson.  Against  him  the  Demo- 
crats pitted  Joseph  K.  Hornish,  who  had  been  in  the  camp 
of  the  short-lived  Union  party.  The  Republicans  of  the 
Second  District  named  their  foremost  financier  and  the 
right-hand  supporter  of  Governor  Kirkwood,  Hiram 
Price.  This  district  was  one  which  the  Democrats  had 
vowed  to  capture,  and  so  the  rivalry  among  the  Demo- 
crats was  keen.432  It  took  five  ballots  to  nominate,  and 
Edward  H.  Thayer  won  over  four  competitors,  one  of 

425  Iowa  State  Register,  June  18,  1862. 

426  Burlington  Hawkeye,  July  24,  1862. 

427  Charles  City  Intelligencer,  June  19,  1862. 

428  iowa  City  Republican,  July  9,  1862. 

429  Fort  Dodge  Republican,  July  9,  1862. 

430  Muscatine  Journal,  July  15,  1862. 

431  Burlington  Hawkeye,  August  7,  1862. 

432  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  August  26,  1862. 


152  TEE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

them  being  I.  M.  Preston,  who  had  presided  over  the 
Union  party  convention  in  August,  1861.  Editor  Thayer, 
a  Democrat  of  the  old  school,  enjoyed  the  fullest  confi- 
dence of  his  political  opponents,  even  during  the  most 
critical  time  of  the  war.433  In  the  Third  District  William 

B.  Allison  and  Dennis  A.  Mahoney  were  the  nominees. 
Both  were  citizens  of  Dubuque,  Allison  already  a  recog- 
nized legislator  and  campaigner,434  while  Mahoney,  who 
was  nominated  on  the  third  ballot,435  was  one  of  the  most 
famous  anti-war  Democrats  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and 
at  the  time  was  under  indictment  for  treason.    That  may 
have  induced  the  nomination,  but  it  was  politically  a  bad 
thing  for  the  party.    The  convention  practically  broke  up 
over  the  issue,  Major  Coyle,  followed  by  others,  forswear- 
ing all  affinity  with  the  party.    The  Republicans  claimed 
that  Mahoney 's  nomination  was  made  in  defiance  of  the 
Government.436     In   the    Fourth   District    the    popular 
preacher-farmer,  Josiah  B.  Grinnell,437  and  the  brilliant 
young  Democratic  attorney,  Henry  M.  Martin,  were  the 
opposing  nominees.    The  greatest  rivalry  among  the  Re- 
publicans for  the  nomination  was  seen  in  the  Fifth  Dis- 
trict,  the   race  being  close  between  John  A.   Kasson, 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr.,  and  M.  L.  McPherson.    Kasson 
was  named438  on  the  fifth  ballot  with  a  majority  of  one.439 

433  Annals  of  Iowa,  (3rd  Series),  Vol.  VI,  pp.  637,  638. 
434/ow;a  state  Register,  August  13,  1862. 
435/owa  state  Register,  August  27,  1862. 

436  Iowa  State  Register,  August  27,  1862. 

437  Iowa  State  Register,  August  13,  1862. 

438  Mr.   Kasson 's  nomination,  according  to  the  now  venerable  Judge  C. 

C.  Cole,  was  "quite  a  surprise".     He  says:    "Thomas  H.  Benton,  then  of 
Council  Bluffs,  was  by  the  many  people  expected  to  be  the  nominee,  but 
Mr.  Kasson's  service  to  the  government  and  the  prominence  given  to  him 
thereby,   and    the   possibilities   coming   through    the   appointment    of    post- 
masters, which  belonged  to  his  department,  contributed  doubtless  to  his  suc- 
cess in  the  convention. ' ' —  Judge  Cole  in  eulogy  of  John  A.  Kasson,  in  The 
Register  and  Leader,  April  9,  1911. 

439/owa  State  Register,  July  23,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  153 

His  fellow-townsman,  Dan  0.  Finch,  was  his  Democratic 
opponent.  In  the  Sixth  District  the  Republicans  named 
Asahel  W.  Hubbard,  who  had  for  his  competitor  the  well- 
known  senator,  John  F.  Duncombe. 

THE   ISSUES  OF   THE   CANVASS  I   THE   ELECTION 

The  campaign  was  characterized  by  several  new  and 
unusual  features.  Simultaneous  with  the  conventional 
"rally",  were  the  congressional  joint-debates,  the  war 
mass-meetings,  the  consequent  agitation  for  the  soldier 
vote  and  the  extra  session  of  the  legislature,  the  endeavor 
on  the  part  of  certain  religious  sects  to  secure  exemption 
from  military  service,  the  prominence  of  the  emancipa- 
tion issue,  and  the  final  repudiation  of  their  old  party  by 
the  War  Democrats. 

War  meetings  were  held  during  the  summer  months  in 
nearly  every  county  of  the  State.  These  were  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enrolling  volunteers  and  were,  of  course,  non-par- 
tisan in  character.  They,  however,  too  often  became  oc- 
casions for  political  harangues,  a  thing  in  which  both 
parties  sinned.  One  such  meeting  at  Des  Moines  on 
August  4th,  was  captured  by  the  Democrats  and  turned 
into  an  anti-war  meeting.440  Martin  D.  McHenry  pre- 
sided and  appointed  a  "Committee  on  Eesolutions ", 
which  brought  in  a  report  entirely  out  of  sympathy  with 
the  purpose  of  the  meeting.  Speeches  were  made  by  such 
uncertain  "Union"  men  as  Dr.  A.  Y.  Hull,  J.  C.  Turk, 
and  J.  M.  Ellwood.  The  Republicans  became  disgusted, 
and  growling  out  epithets  left  the  meeting. 

The  joint-debates  by  the  congressional  candidates  re- 
sulted from  a  challenge  by  the  Republicans,  but  they  were 
carried  out  fully  in  only  one  district,  the  Fifth.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Republicans,  the  scheme  generally  fell  through 

440  Iowa  State  Register,  August  6,  1862. 


154  TEE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

because  the  Democrats  "backed  out";  according  to  the 
Democrats,  it  was  because  the  Republicans  were  "unfair 
and  abusive".  The  Kasson-Finch  discussions  of  the 
Fifth  District  were  apparently  so  successful  and  satis- 
factory to  both  sides,  that  upon  the  completion  of  the  first 
schedule,  commencing  at  Adel  on  September  1st  and  clos- 
ing on  the  13th  at  Des  Moines,  a  second  series  was  con- 
ducted, ending  on  October  4th  at  Chariton.  Mr.  Finch, 
upholding  the  Democratic  program  of  opposition  to  all 
that  the  Republicans  had  done,  made  his  special  attack 
on  the  emancipation  policy,441  just  promulgated.  Mr. 
Kasson,  because  of  his  public  experience  and  close  con- 
nection with  the  Government,  whose  course  he  ably  de- 
fended, attracted  hearers,  and  he  used  his  prestige  to  the 
greatest  advantage.  The  Grinnell-Martin  debate  opened 
auspiciously  at  Newton,  on  the  12th  of  September,  but 
was  soon  discontinued.  At  this  first  debate,  many  Demo- 
crats were  reported  to  have  declared  that  they  had  voted 
the  old  party  ticket  for  the  last  time.  In  fact,  Mr.  Martin 
himself  was  accused  of  contemplating  desertion.442  Both 
parties  were  doubtless  correct  in  their  explanations  for 
the  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  debates. 

The  stress  of  the  campaign  came  late,  although  there 
were  occasional  addresses  and  rallies  all  through  the  sum- 
mer. Early  in  June,  Edward  Everett  delivered  an  ad- 
dress at  Dubuque,  on  the  "Origin  and  Character  of  the 
War",  in  which  he  took  the  ground  that  secession  was 
premeditated.  While  he  made  no  profound  impression 
on  Iowa,  yet  he  was  well  received  and  his  utterances  en- 
dorsed.443 

44i  Iowa  State  Register,  October  15,  1862. 
442/owa  State  Eegister,  October  8,  1862. 

443  Copied  by  the  Iowa  State  Eegister,  June  25,  1862,  from  the  Dubuque 

News. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  155 

For  campaigners  as  such,  both  parties  depended  upon 
home  talent.  The  chief  speakers  at  the  rallies  were  the 
candidates  for  office.  The  Republicans  made  large  use  of 
Henry  O'Connor,  who  was  home  from  the  war  on  a  fur- 
lough. He  was  indispensable  in  both  the  war  meetings 
and  the  political  rallies.  The  situation  at  home  demanded 
especially  the  services  of  Iowa's  strongest  man  and  great- 
est statesman,  Senator  Grimes.  He  was  in  the  field  from 
September  20th  to  October  10th,  beginning  at  McGregor 
and  going  down  through  the  eastern  half  of  the  State  to 
Centerville.444  He  was  pleased  with  his  success,  espe- 
cially in  winning  the  support  of  the  Quakers,  many  of 
whom  hitherto  had  held  aloof.445 

But  while  these  old-time  Eepublican  speakers  were  as 
effective  as  usual,  it  was  the  War  Democrats  who  prob- 
ably played  the  most  important  part  in  the  campaign.  In 
the  final  and  public  repudiation  of  their  old  party,  the 
War  Democrats  certainly  exercised  a  far-reaching  in- 
fluence. They  had  been  slow  in  forming  new  party  con- 
nections; but  finally,  as  they  had  all  along  accepted  the 
war,  they  came  also  to  accept  the  party  that  was  prose- 
cuting it. 

To  the  Republicans,  one  of  the  most  valued  conversions 
was  that  of  C.  C.  Cole.  He  had  long  been  on  probation, 
and  it  was  no  fault  of  theirs  that  he  had  not  long  ago  been 
received  into  full  fellowship.  The  first  important  service 
which  Mr.  Cole  rendered  was  in  addressing  war  meetings. 
It  was  at  such  a  meeting  at  Adel,  on  August  14th,  that  he 
laid  down  the  articles  of  his  faith.446  Pointing  out  the 
duty  of  all  citizens  toward  the  war,  he  declared  that  "the 

444  iowa  state  Register,  September  24,  1862. 

445  Salter's  Life  of  James  W.  Grimes,  p.  216. 

446  Correspondence  of  Mr.  P.  T.  Russell  to  the  Iowa  State  Register,  August 
20,  1862. 


156  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

mass  of  the  Democratic  party  is  true",447  and  told  the 
Democrats  that  they  had  no  cause  for  complaint  against 
the  National  Administration,  since  many  appointments 
had  been  made  regardless  of  party.  It  was  therefore  the 
duty  of  Democrats  to  sustain  the  Administration,  whose 
policy  and  leaders  he  praised.  This  address  was  consid- 
ered * '  the  speech  of  the  season ' '  and  it  added  recruits  for 
the  ranks  of  both  the  army  and  the  Eepublican  party. 

Another  definite  commitment  to  the  Eepublican  party 
was  that  of  J.  A.  Williamson,  who  in  a  letter  of  October 
2nd,  stated  that  he  had  kept  the  Democratic  creed  until 
then.448  He  left  the  party  because  it  was  "no  longer  a 
synonym  for  patriotism  and  loyalty ".  Again,  George  C. 
Tichenor,  who  had  been  Secretary  of  the  Democratic 
State  Central  Committee,  and  was  now  also  in  the  army, 
forsook  Democracy.  In  a  letter  of  October  1st  he  pro- 
posed to  aid  in  the  fight  against  the  arrogant  Democrats 
at  home  by  "striking  at  their  confederates  in  Dixie ",449 

Among  other  powerful  additions  to  the  cause  of  Ee- 
publicanism  were  Adjutant  General  Baker,  Lieutenant 
James  Baker,  and  Captain  H.  H.  Heath.  These  men,  with 
Governor  Kirkwood,  were  the  speakers  at  a  great  meeting 
in  Davenport  on  October  7th,  and  of  course  Metropolitan 
Hall  was  crowded  to  hear  the  converts  make  their  public 
professions.450  Captain  Heath's  change  of  heart  was 
something  quite  out  of  the  ordinary ;  for  it  will  be  recalled 
that  he  had  been  a  leader  in  the  organization  of  the 
Breckinridge  party  of  I860,451  having  been  the  editor  of 
the  party's  organ  in  Iowa,  The  North  West. 

447  He   cited   such   national    characters    as:    Stanton,    Holt,    Ben    Butler, 
Governor  Sprague,  Douglas,  Hunter,  and  Wright. 

448  Iowa  State  Eegister,  October  22,  1862. 

449  Iowa  State  Eegister,  October     8,  1862. 

450  Davenport  Gazette,  October  8,  1862. 

451  See  above,  p.  24,  note  43. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  157 

In  this  campaign,  while  there  was  no  Union  party  or- 
ganization as  in  '61,  the  term  "Union"  was  occasionally 
used,  and  it  was  claimed  by  both  parties,  the  Eepublicans 
not  yet  gaining  sole  possession  of  it.  The  Democrats 
adopting  the  motto,  "The  Union  as  it  was,  and  the  Con- 
stitution as  it  is",  pleaded  for  the  restoration  of  the 
Union,  which  they  still  accused  the  Eepublicans  of  sun- 
dering.452 The  Republicans  spoke  of  their  own  party  as 
being  the  "true  party  of  the  Union",453  and  they  gener- 
ally used  the  term  "Union"  in  this  sense;  although  in 
connection  with  the  returns  of  the  soldiers'  vote,  they 
spoke  of  the  vote  for  the  "Republican  Union"454  ticket. 
Again,  at  the  time  of  the  election,  the  Republicans  of 
Iowa  spoke  of  the  triumph  of  the  "Union  ticket"  in  Illi- 
nois, New  York,  Ohio,  and  other  States,  but  referred  to 
their  own  State  election  as  a  "Republican  victory".455 

The  use  of  these  particular  forms  of  the  term  during 
the  lull  of  the  Union  party  movement,  is  significant,  in 
view  of  the  course  pursued  by  the  Iowa  Republicans  from 
1863  to  1864,  as  well  as  for  several  subsequent  years. 

THE  INAUGURATION  OF  THE  SOLDIER  VOTE 

The  response  of  Iowa  to  the  proclamation  of  President 
Lincoln  for  300,000  more  volunteers,  followed  by  Gov- 
ernor Kirkwood's  special  proclamation456  of  August 
17th,  urging  the  speedy  filling  of  the  State's  quota,  raised 
another  grave  question,  that  of  endangering  both  the  Re- 
publican administration  of  the  State  and  the  seats  in 
Congress.  These  fears  were  based  upon  the  supposition 

452  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  July  4,  1862. 

453  iowa  state  Register,  August  13,  1862. 
454/owo  state  Register,  October  22,  1862. 

455  iowa  state  Register,  November  6,  1862. 

456  Shambaugh  's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa, 
Vol.  II,  p.  315. 


158  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

that  among  the  volunteers  Republicans  were  proportion- 
ately more  numerous  than  Democrats.  The  Democratic 
minorities  at  home  might  thus  be  changed  to  majorities, 
and  the  election  to  office  of  any  but  Republicans  would  be 
a,  repudiation  of  Iowa's  loyalty  to  the  cause  of  the  Na- 
tional Administration.  Therefore,  early  in  the  campaign 
Republican  leaders  began  to  inquire  about  the  legality  of 
volunteers  voting  in  the  field ;  for  it  would  be  next  to  im- 
possible for  them  to  return  on  furloughs  to  cast  their  bal- 
lots. Why  might  they  not  exercise  their  franchise  wher- 
ever stationed! 

The  question  was  both  a  constitutional  and  political 
one.  In  order  for  the  soldiers  to  vote  the  legislature 
would  have  to  be  convened,  and  the  election  law  of  the 
State  amended.  This  the  Democracy  would  oppose,  since 
they  could  expect  no  political  advantage.  But  Iowa's 
soldiers,  rallying  to  the  calls  of  the  President  and  the 
Governor,  should  not  be  disfranchised.  Illinois  had  just 
passed  a  Soldiers'  Vote  Law,  and  why  not  Iowa? 

The  interest  of  the  party  leaders  was  quickened,  for 
they  saw  that  this  would  guarantee  the  party's  control 
of  the  State,  and  at  the  same  time  insure  an  early  filling 
of  their  quota,  since  it  would  encourage  enlistments.  The 
leaders  held  conferences  with  the  Governor,  who  also  re- 
ceived letters  of  inquiry  and  voluntary  advice;  and  be- 
sides, during  the  month  of  August  the  Governor  received 
applications  from  nearly  all  the  most  populous  counties 
of  the  State,  for  an  extra  session  of  the  legislature.457 
Kirkwood  finally  accepted  the  issue  and  called  the  Ninth 
General  Assembly  to  convene  in  extra  session  on  Sep- 
tember 3rd. 

Coupled  with  the  demand  for  a  soldiers '  vote  law,  was 
the  need  for  an  immediate  acceptance  by  the  State  of  the 

«7  Iowa  State  Register,  August  20,  1862. 


CIVIL    WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  159 

Congressional  land  grant  for  the  support  of  colleges  of 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  which,  it  was  felt, 
should  not  be  delayed  until  the  meeting  of  the  next  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  1864.  When  the  legislature  assembled 
at  the  appointed  time,  the  Governor,  in  his  message,  em- 
phasized these  two  things,  besides  recommending  several 
minor  measures  in  connection  with  military  affairs.458 

The  session  lasted  nine  days,  and  made  a  record  of 
"less  talking  and  more  work"  than  had  ever  been  known 
in  the  same  length  of  time.459  There  was  a  good  attend- 
ance of  the  law-makers,  notwithstanding  the  busy  season 
and  the  enlistments  going  on,  even  among  the  members 
of  the  legislature.  There  were  absent  twelve  out  of  the 
forty-six  Senators,460  and  twenty-one  out  of  the  ninety- 
four  Representatives.461  Party  politics  was  prominent 
throughout.  Repeated  attempts  were  made  by  the  minor- 
ity to  block  the  aggressive  program  of  the  majority.  In 
all  there  were  thirty-nine  acts  and  three  resolutions 
passed. 

The  question  of  the  soldier  vote  was  brought  up  in  the 
House  by  a  Democrat,  Racine  D.  Kellogg  of  Decatur 
County,  who  offered  a  resolution  requiring  the  Committee 
on  Elections  to  bring  in  a  bill  amending  the  law  so  as  to 
permit  soldiers  in  the  field  to  vote.462  At  once  James  T. 
Lane  introduced  the  Soldiers '  Vote  bill,  making  it  amend- 
atory of  Title  4  of  the  Revision  of  I860.463  The  next  day 
a  Democratic  Representative,  Christian  Denlinger  of 
Dubuque,  introduced  a  resolution  calling  for  an  opinion 

458  Senate  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  p.  5. 

459  Iowa  State  Register,  September  12,  1862. 

460  Senate  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  p.  3. 

461  House  Journal,  1862   (Extra  Session),  p.  3. 

462  House  Journal,  1862   (Extra  Session),  p.  17. 

463  House  Journal,  1862   (Extra  Session),  pp.  18,  25. 


160  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

from  the  Attorney  General  on  the  constitutionality  of 
soldiers  voting  for  State  officers  while  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  district  or  State.464  This  was  adopted  and  the  next 
day,  September  5th,  Attorney  General  Nourse  delivered 
his  opinion.405  It  was  based  upon  Article  II,  Section  1  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  State,  which  guaranteed  the  suf- 
frage to  every  white  male  citizen  twenty-one  years  old, 
prescribing  the  residence  "in  which  he  claims  his  vote". 
This  last  phrase,  Mr.  Nourse  held  was  not  intended  to  fix 
the  place,  but  rather  to  prescribe  the  qualification  of  elec- 
tors; consequently,  absence  in  military  service  did  not 
change  the  residence.  Furthermore,  voters  were  not  re- 
quired to  be  at  home  all  of  the  sixty  days  stipulated ;  and 
the  Constitution  did  not  contemplate  preventing  anyone 
from  voting.  This  opinion  was,  of  course,  in  harmony 
with  the  popular  demand  for  the  law,  and  was  in  fact  a 
foregone  conclusion. 

On  September  8th  the  committee  reported  Lane's  bill 
with  amendments,466  and  after  further  amendment,467  it 
passed  by  a  unanimous  vote.468  In  the  Senate  further 
amendments  were  added469  which  the  House  accepted;470 
and  although  the  Democratic  Senators  attacked  certain 
political  features  of  the  bill,  the  final  vote  was  thirty- 
seven  to  one  for  it.  Only  one  Democrat,  Harvey  W. 
English,  voted  against  the  measure,  while  there  were 
seven471  Democrats  who  voted  for  it.  On  the  last  day  of 
the  session  the  measure  was  signed  by  Governor  Kirk- 
wood,  and  it  immediately  went  into  effect. 

464  House  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  p.  19. 

465  House  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  pp.  25,  26. 

466  House  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  pp.  56-59. 

467  House  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  pp.  61,  62. 

468  House  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  p.  78. 

46» Senate  Journal,  1862   (Extra  Session),  pp.  44-46. 

no  House  Journal,  1862   (Extra  Session),  p.  80. 

47i  These  were :  Buncombe,  Green,  Gray,  Neal,  Trumbull,  Hesser,  Jennings. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  KECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD 

The  act472  provided  that  every  white  male  citizen 
twenty-one  years  of  age  or  over,  after  six  months  resi- 
dence in  the  State  and  in  the  county  sixty  days  "  preced- 
ing entering  on  military  service "  could  vote,  "whether 
at  the  time  of  voting  he  shall  be  within  the  limits  of  the 
State  or  not ' ',  and  the  votes  so  cast  should  be  accredited 
to  the  county  where  the  electors  would  be  entitled  to  vote. 
The  elections,  conducted  by  three  officers  as  judges,  were 
to  be  held  on  the  same  day  as  in  the  State.  The  polls 
were  to  be  established  in  regiments,  battalions,  batteries 
and  companies,  or  in  any  detachments  of  the  same,  and 
they  were  to  be  open  from  9  A.  M.  to  12  M.,  or  even  to  6 
P.  M.,  or  yet  longer  if  necessary.  Commissioners  were 
to  be  appointed  for  each  polling  precinct,  and  were  to 
make  the  returns  to  the  Secretary  of  State.  These  com- 
missioners were  to  assemble  on  September  20th  at  Daven- 
port to  ballot  for  their  respective  places. 

There  were  thirty-nine  regiments  of  infantry,  the  First 
and  Third  being  out  of  the  service,  six  of  cavalry,  and 
three  batteries,  besides  several  detachments,  thus  requir- 
ing in  all  fifty-two  commissioners  to  take  the  vote.  The 
commissioners  were  chosen  from  all  parts  of  the  State 
and  from  every  condition  and  vocation  in  life ;  but  so  far 
as  can  be  learned  no  Democrats  were  appointed.  This 
was  one  of  the  issues  during  the  framing  of  the  law,  the 
Democrats  demanding  the  appointment  of  commissioners 
"without  respect  to  party'7,  but  the  Eepublicans  refused 
to  concede  even  that  much.473  At  this  day  one  can  not  see 
how  a  Democrat,  such  as  would  have  been  considered, 
could  possibly  have  endangered  the  vote  in  the  least ;  but 
the  Eepublicans  of  that  time  were  suspicious  of  any  pub- 
lic duty  which  a  Democrat  might  perform.  The  list  of 

472  Laws  of  Iowa,  1862  (Extra  Session),  pp.  28-37. 
nzHou.se  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  p.  58. 

11 


162  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

commissioners  included  several  politicians  and  smacked 
somewhat  of  patronage.  Among  the  well-known  men 
were :  D.  P.  Stubbs,  Stewart  Goodrell,  William  H.  Seev- 
ers,  John  Van  Valkenburg,  Eobert  B.  Rutledge,  Edmond 
Jeager,  John  E.  Davis  of  Davenport,  J.  T.  Turner  of 
Iowa  City,  and  the  Mexican  War  veteran,  Isaac  W.  Grif- 
fith of  Des  Moines.  Several  newspaper  men  were  also  ap- 
pointed, among  them  F.  M.  Mills,  C.  F.  Clarkson,  E.  W. 
Chapin,  and  A.  K.  Bailey. 

While  the  assurance  of  the  privilege  of  voting  may  have 
aided  the  enlistments,  yet  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  the 
soldiers  were  less  exercised  over  tfye  franchise  than  were 
the  people  at  home.474  Some  officers  feared  the  conse- 
quences of  soldiers  on  the  field  exercising  a  civil  function, 
especially  if  electioneering  were  encouraged  or  permitted. 
On  this  point  Colonel  J.  A.  Williamson,  of  the  Fourth 
Iowa,  said :  "If  I  were  not  fully  convinced  that  election- 
eering and  voting  in  the  army  are  to  some  extent  preju- 
dicial to  good  order  and  discipline,  I  should  not  hesitate 
to  exert  myself  in  behalf  of  the  measures  which  I  think 
right  ",475  There  was  less  political  corruption  among  the 
regiments  in  this  first  election,  however,  than  in  subse- 
quent elections. 

;  As  to  the  effect  of  the  soldiers'  vote  on  the  result  of 
the  election,  it  must  be  said  that  it  was  largely  negative 
or  passive.  The  Democratic  press  generally  had  sup- 
ported the  measure,  but  after  the  election  claimed  that 
dishonesty  in  the  conduct  of  the  elections  was  practiced. 
The  Burlington  Argus,  for  instance,  complained  that  the 
soldier  vote  operated  to  defeat  the  Democratic  candidate 

474  Opinion  of  Colonel  J.  A.  Williamson,  in  a  letter  of  October  2,  1862. — 
Iowa  State  Eegister,  October  22,  1862. 

475  Opinion  of  Colonel  J.  A.  Williamson,  in  a  letter  of  October  2,  1862. — 
Iowa  State  Eegister,  October  22,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  163 

for  Congress,  J.  K.  Hornish,  who  otherwise  would  have 
defeated  Wilson  by  one  hundred  votes.  But  the  Demo- 
cratic claim  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  volunteers 
were  Democrats  was  denied  by  the  Republicans,  who  held 
that  in  addition  to  the  preponderance  of  Republican  sol- 
diers, the  Democrats  who  enlisted  were  led  by  their  pa- 
triotic instincts  to  act  now  with  the  Government.476 

The  soldier  vote,  compared  to  the  large  number  of  vol- 
unteers —  more  than  50,000  —  was  small,  but  this  was 
due  chiefly  to  the  large  proportion  of  volunteers  who  were 
under  age.  The  total  vote  was  23,104,  of  which  18,989 
were  Republican  and  4,115  Democratic,  being  more  than 
four  to  one  for  the  former  ticket.  The  vote  of  course 
differed  in  different  regiments,  and  in  some  instances  the 
Democratic  vote  equalled  that  of  the  Republicans.477  We 
shall  see,  in  connection  with  the  full  election  returns,  the 
real  meaning  of  the  soldier  vote. 

THE   ATTITUDE  OF   IOWA   TOWARD   EMANCIPATION  IN    1862 

The  preliminary  emancipation  proclamation  issued  by 
Lincoln  on  September  23rd,  1862,  was  the  culmination  of 
his  perplexity  over  the  disposition  of  the  slavery  ques- 
tion thus  far  during  the  war.  On  no  question  was  he 
more  sorely  tried.  Slaves  in  army  and  camp,  fugitives, 
emancipation  by  compensation,  saving  the  border  States, 
were  among  his  problems.  There  was  much  criticism  of, 
and  opposition  to,  the  Government's  policy  toward  fugi- 
tives,478 as  well  as  to  emancipation  by  purchase  and  all 
the  acts  tending  to  contravene  the  purpose  of  the  famous 

476  fowa  State  Register,  November  14,  1862. 

477  The  fortieth  Regiment  gave  Wright  295  to  Sylvester  284,  and  tied  in 
the  vote  for  Auditor;  the  Seventh  Regiment  gave  208  to  5,  and  210  to  4, 
respectively ;  in  the  Thirty-seventh  the  vote  was  13  to  0 ;  in  the  Twenty-first 
the  vote  was  486  to  25 ;  the  Mfteenth  gave  209  to  115  for  Secretary  of  State, 
and  210  to  114  for  Auditor. 

478  Rhodes '  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  467,  468. 


164  TEE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

war  resolution479  of  Congress  July  21,  1861.  The  new 
policy  of  military  emancipation  was  a  delicate  question  to 
introduce  in  1862  in  the  congressional  campaign,  notwith- 
standing the  pledge  of  its  withdrawal  if  the  rebellious 
States  should  return  to  their  allegiance.  The  fact  that 
the  proclamation  was  a  military  document  did  not  pre- 
vent its  becoming  at  once  a  political  document. 

Lincoln,  as  also  the  party  which  upheld  him,  was  at 
once  attacked  as  playing  the  role  of  a  despot,  and  during 
the  campaign  in  a  number  of  Northern  States  the  Kepub- 
licans  met  disaster.  While  it  is  true  that  the  proclama- 
tion "dampened  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Northern  masses 
for  the  war",480  and  resulted  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
dominant  party  in  several  States  —  New  York,  New  Jer- 
sey, Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Wiscon- 
sin;481 yet  such  was  notably  not  the  case  in  Iowa,  nor  in 
two  other  Western  States,482  nor  in  New  England. 

In  Iowa  emancipation  was  an  issue,  and  a  favorite  one, 
As  we  have  seen,  both  parties  had  already  expressed 
themselves  on  the  question.  Even  before  the  party  con- 
ventions acted,  the  Governor,  the  press,  and  party  lead- 
ers had  come  out  either  for  or  against  the  idea.  In  his  in- 
augural address  before  the  legislature  on  January  13thr 
1862,  Governor  Kirkwood  expressed  himself  as  to  the 
purpose  of  the  war  as  follows :  ' '  The  war  is  waged  by  our 
Government  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  and  not 
for  the  extinction  of  slavery,  unless  the  preservation  of 
the  Union  shall  require  the  extinction  of  the  other  ",483 
His  moderation  is  shown  in  his  declaration  that  he  would 
not  spend  further  treasure  or  life  for  the  extinction  of 

479  Congressional  Globe,  Extra  Session,  36th  Congress,  pp.  222,  265. 

480  Dunning 's  Essays  on  the  Civil  War  and  Reconstruction,  p.  40. 

481  Rhodes '  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  IV,  p.  163. 

482  Michigan  and  California. 

483  Senate  Journal,  1862,  p.  42. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  165 

slavery,  although  he  might  regret  that  slavery  had  not 
also  been  extinguished  if  the  war  should  close  without  it ; 
for  it  would  be  a  "further  bane  and  pest".  Then  he  sig- 
nificantly added,  and  in  this  he  was  in  advance  of  Lincoln 
himself :  "  If  I  had  the  power  on  tomorrow  to  end  this  ter- 
rible strife  and  preserve  the  Union  by  the  extinction  of 
slavery,  while  to  preserve  both  would  require  a  month's, 
or  a  week's,  or  a  day's,  or  an  hour's  further  war,  the 
spending  of  an  additional  dollar  or  the  loss  of  a  single 
additional  life :  so  surely  as  the  Lord  lives,  the  war  would 
end  tomorrow". 

These  utterances  were  effective  in  preparing  people 
for  Lincoln's  proclamation,  and  as  noted  above  in  even 
anticipating  the  issue  and  causing  Iowa  really  to  lead  in 
the  demand  for  emancipation. 

The  legislature  took  no  special  action  on  the  question, 
but  the  Iowa  Senators  and  Representatives  at  Washing- 
ton were  foremost  in  the  various  preliminary  emancipa- 
tion acts  in  Congress,484  and  the  people  at  home  applaud- 
ed their  action.  "The  Senators",  said  an  Iowa  corre- 
spondent to  the  Washington  [D.  C.]  Globe,  "are  the  very 
antipodes  of  the  ciphers  we  have  had  there  [in  Congress] 
for  many  years.  .  .  .  After  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
century  of  subserviency  to  the  lords  of  the  land,  Iowa 
stands  proudly  erect  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  as  well 
as  on  the  field  of  battle".485 

Expressions  on  the  question  were  given  by  various 
bodies.  For  instance,  on  April  24th  the  Presbyterians  of 
the  State,  in  their  annual  conference  at  Independence, 
adopted  a  resolution  to  support  the  Government  in  the 

484  Congressional  Globe,  2d  Session,  37th  Congress,  pp.  1526,  1629,  1643, 
1648-49. 

485  Iowa  State  Register,  May  14,  1862. 


166  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

abolition  of  slavery.486  During  the  months  of  June  and 
July  some  of  the  Eepublican  county  conventions  endorsed 
the  action  of  Congress  in  calling  for  300,000  additional 
volunteers  and  in  arming  the  negroes.  These  resolutions 
were  turned  to  peculiar  use  by  the  Democrats,  which 
shows  how  they  were  planning  to  make  capital  out  of  the 
developing  emancipation  policy  of  the  party  in  power. 
They  declared  that  "  party  conventions  have  no  right,  by 
word  or  deed,  to  obstruct  and  prevent  enlistments '  '.487 
Some  Democrats  claimed  to  be  emancipationists  and  held 
that  the  only  difference  between  Republicans  and  Demo- 
crats was  in  the  manner  of  emancipation ;  that  the  former, 
already  called  Radicals,  were  ignoring  the  constitutional 
right  of  the  people  of  a  State  in  forcing  emancipation  up- 
on the  States.  They  also  made  much  of  their  claim  that 
the  war  was  prosecuted  for  the  very  purpose  of  freeing 
the  slaves.488 

By  the  time  that  the  extra  session  of  the  legislature 
opened,  emancipation  had  come  to  be  regarded  as  "the 
question  of  the  hour",  and  the  agitation  for  universal 
emancipation  became  popular.489  Many  people  believed 
that  the  legislature  should  and  would  take  some  action 
looking  toward  emancipation.  Should  this  body  "fresh 
from  the  people"  pass  a  resolution  favoring  universal 
liberty,  and  going  out  from  the  capital  of  the  State,  it 
would  "nerve  the  hands"  of  President  Lincoln.490  Iowa 
looked  upon  the  President  as  a  trifle  too  timid,  and  upon 
herself  as  a  leader  in  this  new  cause.  But  there  were  men 
in  the  Republican  ranks  who  counselled  going  slowly,  still 

486  Dubuque  Times,  April  25,  1862. 

487  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  July  15,  1862. 

488  Muscatine  Daily  Courier,  July  4,  1862. 

489  Burlington  letter  to  the  Iowa  State  Register,  September  3,  1862. 

490  Burlington  letter  to  the  Iowa  State  Register,  September  3,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  167 

sharing  the  former  views  of  Lincoln  that  radical  action 
would  alienate  the  border  States  and  drive  them  from  the 
Union.491 

Meanwhile  what  did  the  legislature,  "fresh  from  the 
people ",  do?  Did  the  law-makers  carry  out  the  county 
and  State  resolves  ?  They  did  not.  No  action  was  taken 
which  would  commit  the  legislature  to  any  policy  on 
emancipation.  This  of  course  was  before  the  Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation  was  issued.  The  Democrats,  on  the 
other  hand,  seeing  that  the  Republicans  were  not  inclined 
to  push  their  issue,  determined  to  secure  opposite  action. 
Already  fugitives  were  entering  the  State,  and  petitions 
from  seven  or  eight  counties,  as  also  from  several  indi- 
viduals, were  sent  to  the  legislature,  asking  for  a  law  to 
prevent  negroes  and  mulattoes  from  entering  the  State,492 
on  the  grounds  of  competition  with  white  labor.  In  the 
Senate  such  petitions  were  referred  to  various  commit- 
tees,493 while  in  the  House,  on  motion,  the  petitions  were 
sent  to  a  special  committee  of  three,  to  which  committee 
Eush  Clark,  the  Speaker,  appointed  three  Democrats  — 
Christian  Denlinger,  George  Schramm,  and  Harvey  Dun- 
lavy.494  This  committee  soon  reported  a  resolution,495 

491  loica  State  Register,  September  10,  1862.  (Long  letter  from  a 
"staunch  Union  man".) 

^^  Senate  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  pp.  19,  38,  47;  House  Journal, 
1862  (Extra  Session),  pp.  11,  20,  29,  59,  71,  92,  95. 

493  Committee  on  Federal  Eelations,  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  and 
Committee  on  Charitable  Institutions. 

494  House  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  p.  11. 

495  The  Resolution  reads :   ' '  The  Committee  believes  that  the  people  of  this 
State  entertain  the  same  opinions  on  this  subject  that  have  been  exhibited 
lately  by  the  people  of  Illinois;   and  that  in  view  of  the  rapid  influx  into 
the  State,  self  protection  renders  it  absolutely  necessary  that  some  step  should 
be  immediately  taken  to  protect  the  laboring  classes  of  our  citizens  against 
the  competition  of   negro   labor  —  to  prevent  our   alms-houses  and  prisons 
from  being  crowded  with  this   class  of  people,   and  becoming  a  tax  and 
burden    upon    the   already    over-taxed   population    of    the   State ' '. —  House 
Journal,  1862   (Extra  Session),  p.  76. 


168  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

and  followed  it  with  a  bill,  which  on  motion  of  H.  C. 
Loomis,  of  Cedar  County,  a  Kepublican,  was  rejected  by  a 
vote  of  fifty-eight  to  nineteen.496  This  vote,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  six  Democrats  voting  with  the  majority,  was  a 
strict  partisan  vote,  and  it  was  another  instance  of  united 
Eepublicanism  against  divided  Democracy. 

The  passive  attitude  of  the  legislature  was  rather  the 
result  of  policy,  coupled  with  an  uncertainty  as  to  the  ef- 
fect of  an  aggressive  course.  There  can  be  little  doubt 
that  a  majority  of  the  legislators  were  favorable  to  eman- 
cipation. True  there  was  some  falling-off  of  enlistments 
during  the  late  summer,  but  upon  the  appearance  of  the 
President's  proclamation,  and  as  the  campaign  warmed, 
the  people  rallied  and  even  led  the  leaders.  When  Sen- 
ator Grimes  toured  the  State,  he  found  the  people  de- 
manding a  '  '  radical  emancipation  program ' ',  and  ' '  ahead 
of  the  politicians  in  sentiment ".  Said  he:  "We  took  the 
bull  by  the  horns  and  made  the  proclamation  an  issue  ",497 

Mr.  Palmer  called  the  Emancipation  Proclamation, 
"The  Great  Event  of  the  War",498  thinking  it  better  than 
fifty  victories  in  the  field.  To  this  radical  editor,  the 
proclamation  was  preferable  to  the  annihilation  of  the 
Confederate  army;  for,  with  the  latter,  "Conservatives 
and  Commercial  Cormorants  would  have  clamored  for  a 
patched-up  Peace,  in  which  Slavery  would  have  been  left 
with  its  old  guarantees  to  plot  new  insurrections.  With 
the  former  we  have  a  guarantee  of  perpetual  Peace  in  the 
annihilation  of  the  cause  of  the  War ' '.  A  sentiment  simi- 
lar to  this,  though  significantly  prophetic  of  the  radical- 
ism of  the  Eeconstruction  period,  came  from  a  commander 

496  House  Journal,  1862  (Extra  Session),  p.  77. 

497  Letter  of   Grimes   to   Secretary   Chase — Salter's   Life   of  James    W. 
Grimes,  p.  218. 

498  iowa  state  Register,  October     1,  1862. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  169 

in  the  field,  and  a  former  War  Democrat,  Colonel  J.  A. 
Williamson.  In  an  open  letter  of  October  2d  to  the  Iowa 
State  Register  he  gloried  in  "the  throwing  overboard  the 
ballast  of  four  million  slaves",  and  declared  that  "all  the 
legislation  in  regard  to  Slavery  which  ought  to  be  done, 
is  now  finished  —  the  fate  of  Slavery  is  now  in  the  hands 
of  those  who  own  it".499  The  owners,  thought  he,  by  lay- 
ing down  their  arms  could  yet  save  slavery,  and  by  re- 
fusing to  do  so  would  lose  the  institution.  In  the  minds 
and  purposes  of  the  Republicans  generally,  the  radical 
program  expressed  by  Mr.  Palmer  was  the  one  desired. 
But  we  must  go  to  the  election  to  determine  finally  the  ex- 
tent to  which  Iowa  was  influenced  by  the  issue. 

THE  ELECTION 

In  the  election,  on  November  5th,  the  Republicans 
swept  the  board  clean  —  State  officers,  Congressional  del- 
egation, the  District  Judges  and  Attorneys,  and  the  local 
tickets  in  all  but  a  few  counties.  The  vote  for  Secretary 
of  State  gave  a  majority  of  15,215  for  Dr.  Wright,  his 
vote  being  66,014  to  Mr.  Sylvester's  50,809,  which  shows, 
notwithstanding  the  complete  triumph  of  one  party,  the 
same  ratio  of  vote  between  the  two  parties  as  in  the  elec- 
tions of  1860  and  1861.  This  party  equilibrium  is  unique 
in  comparison  with  many  Northern  States  during  this 
time.  There  was  little  scratching  of  tickets.  For  in- 
stance, the  Republican  ' '  scattering  vote ' '  was :  for  Secre- 
tary of  State,  4 ;  for  Treasurer,  7 ;  and  for  Attorney  Gen- 
eral, 9.  The  Democratic  vote  showed  less  solidarity. 

Much  significance  is  attached  to  the  congressional 
vote,500  for  the  reason  that  here,  at  least,  would  appear 

499/owa  State  Eegister,  October  22,  1862. 

soo  Election  returns  for  1862  taken  from  the  Archives  at  Des  Moines : 

First    District:     James    F.   Wilson    (Republican),    12,705;    Joseph    K. 
Hornish   (Democrat),  10,486;  Republican  majority,  2,219. 


170  THE  POLITICS   OF  IOWA 

the  public  will  on  National  issues,  which  had  occasioned 
far  greater  interest  than  State  issues.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  Eepublicans  won  by  large  majorities  in  all  of  the  six 
districts. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  the  Eepublicans  had  not  only  main- 
tained their  congressional  gerrymander,  but  even  over- 
came the  disintegrating  factions  of  1861;  and  the  majori- 
ties in  the  districts  as  in  the  election  of  1860  again  appear. 
But  the  question  arises,  how  did  the  soldier  vote  affect  the 
election?  So  far  as  the  final  result  is  concerned,  it  was 
largely  passive,  though  in  a  few  instances  it  would  have 
altered  matters.  By  an  examination  of  the  total  vote  for 
Eepresentatives  in  Congress,501  for  example,  it  is  seen 
that  the  Eepublican  candidates  had  large  margins ;  with- 
out the  soldier  vote,  however,  these  would  have  been  very 
greatly  reduced,  and  in  one  case,  as  seen  by  the  sched- 
ule,502 that  of  the  Grinnell-Martin  contest  of  the  Fourth 

Second  District:  Hiram  Price  (Eepublican),  12,433;  Edward  H.  Thayer 
(Democrat),  8,930;  Eepublican  majority,  3,503. 

Third  District:  William  B.  Allison  (Eepublican),  12,112;  Dennis  A. 
Mahoney  (Democrat),  8,452;  Scattering,  14  (L.  L.  Ainsworth,  9);  Eepub- 
lican majority,  4,646. 

Fourth  District:  Josiah  B.  Grinnell  (Eepublican),  12,900;  Henry  M. 
Martin  (Democrat),  11,529;  Eepublican  majority,  1,371. 

Fifth  District:  John  A.  Kasson  (Eepublican),  10,306;  Dan  O.  Finch 
(Democrat),  7,346;  Eepublican  majority,  2,960. 

Sixth  District:  Asahel  W.  Hubbard  (Eepublican),  5,386;  John  F.  Dun- 
combe  (Democrat),  2,755;  Eepublican  majority,  2,631. 

sol  Soldier  Vote  for  Eepresentative  in  Congress,  1862 :  First  District : 
James  F.  Wilson  2499;  Joseph  K.  Hornish,  554.  Second  District:  Hiram 
Price,  2928;  Edward  H.  Thayer,  828.  Third  District:  William  B.  Allison, 
2248;  Dennis  A.  Mahoney,  125.  Fourth  District:  J.  B.  Grinnell,  3366; 
Henry  M.  Martin,  1136.  Fifth  District:  John  A.  Kasson,  2609;  D.  O. 
Finch,  672.  Sixth  District:  A.  W.  Hubbard,  1214;  John  F.  Buncombe,  212. 

502  A  comparison  of  the  majorities  in  the  Congressional  vote:  First  Dis- 
trict: Wilson,  with  the  soldier  vote,  2219;  without  the  soldier  vote,  274. 
Second  District:  Price,  with  the  soldier  vote,  3503;  without  the  soldier 
vote,  1403.  Third  District:  Allison,  with  the  soldier  vote,  4646;  without 
the  soldier  vote,  1537.  Fourth  District:  Grinnell,  with  the  soldier  vote, 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD 

District,  the  Democratic  candidate,  Mr.  Martin,  would 
have  been  elected.  But  the  contention  of  the  Democrats 
of  the  First  District,  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  soldier 
vote,  they  would  also  have  elected  their  candidate,  Mr. 
Hornish,  was  not  verified,  although  the  vote  was  close. 
Thus  the  Republicans  did  need  the  vote  to  elect  their  six 
representatives,  notwithstanding  their  sanguine  expecta- 
tions.503 But  with  this  vote  Iowa  endorsed  the  course  of 
her  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress,  not  only 
in  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  but  also  in  their  new  role 
as  emancipators.  The  Emancipation  Proclamation  did 
not  lessen  the  Republican  strength  in  Iowa. 

1371;  without  the  soldier  vote,  — .  Martin,  with  the  soldier  vote,  — ; 
without  the  soldier  vote,  859.  Fifth  District:  Kasson,  with  the  soldier 
vote,  2960 ;  without  the  soldier  vote,  1023.  Sixth  District :  Hubbard,  with 
the  soldier  vote,  2631;  without  the  soldier  vote,  1629. 

sos  Senator  Grimes,  in  a  letter  to  Secretary  Chase  said:  "We  have  car- 
ried the  State  triumphantly.  We  elect  all  of  our  six  Congressmen.  With- 
out the  aid  of  the  army  vote,  our  majority  will  be  greater  than  ever  before; 
with  that  added,  it  will  be  overwhelming." — Salter's  Life  of  James  W. 
Grimes,  pp.  217,  218. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  EEPUBLICAN  PAETY:  THE  PARTY  OF  THE 

UNION 

THE   POSITION   OF   THE   PARTY 
ATTITUDE  TOWARD  PARTY  ORGANIZATION  AND  THE  USE  OF  THE  TERM 


The  year  1863  marks  the  high-tide  of  the  war.  The 
Government's  method  of  suppressing  the  rebellion  and 
saving  the  Union  was  beginning  to  yield  results.  By  mid- 
summer was  sounded  the  death  knell  of  the  Confederacy, 
whose  lines  were  being  pushed  farther  and  farther  back 
before  the  accumulating  resources  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment. Not  only  was  the  " Union"  winning  back  ter- 
ritory, but  with  Emancipation  inaugurated,  the  Adminis- 
tration was  taking  its  first  steps  towards  restoring  the 
' i Union ' \  Thus  the  policy  of  ' i  saving  the  Union."  by  de- 
manding an  unconditional  surrender,  was  effecting  a  re- 
turn to  Federal  allegiance. 

Now,  the  political  party  in  power,  through  whose  pol- 
icy all  these  results  had  been  accomplished,  naturally 
claimed  the  credit  for  "saving  the  Union",  and  accord- 
ingly looked  upon  itself  as  the  ' i  party  of  the  Union ' ?,  de- 
nying at  the  same  time  the  right  of  any  opposition  party 
thus  far  during  the  war  to  a  use  of  the  term  "Union". 
This  was  especially  applicable  in  Iowa,  where  at  first  the 
Democrats,  in  their  charge  that  the  Republican  policy  of 
coercion  would  sunder  the  Union,  monopolized  the 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  173 

term;504  then  a  third  party,  vaguely  hovering  between 
opposition  to  the  war  and  support  of  the  Government, 
appropriated  the  term.  In  1863,  however,  it  became  the 
sole  possession  of  the  Eepublican  party,  which  in  its 
various  declarations,  left  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  people 
as  to  what  was  comprehended  by  the  term  "Union"  as 
applied  to  the  party.  The  idea  that  it  was  the  party  of 
the  Union,  as  in  1862,  was  incorporated  into  a  formal  call 
for  the  State  Convention.  This  call,505  issued  on  Febru- 
ary 18th,  for  the  .Convention  to  convene  in  June,  was  sent 
out  thus  early,  close  upon  the  triumph  of  the  party  at  the 
autumn  election,  in  order  to  forestall  any  "Union  party" 
scheme,  which  might  otherwise  be  inaugurated. 

The  State  Central  Committee,  of  which  James  T.  Lane 
was  chairman,  was  more  explicit  than  before,  as  to  what 
party  was  called  to  assemble,  and  with  what  party  people 
were  asked  to  join.  All  citizens,  without  distinction  of 
party,  were  invited  to  "unite  with  the  Republican  party", 
by  sending  delegates,  the  only  tests  of  fellowship  being 
the  support  of  the  Government's  war  measures  and  a  be- 
lief in  "the  good  doctrine  of  General  Jackson,  'The 
Union,  it  must  and  shall  be  preserved'."  The  incorpora- 
tion of  Jackson's  famous  toast  was  of  course  meant  to  be 
innocently  patriotic  bait  for  Democrats.  It  must  be  noted 
that  the  call  was  for  a  Republican  convention.  County 
representation  was  to  be  based  upon  the  Lincoln  vote  of 

504  The  Democrats,  after  secession  had  become  an  actuality,  fell  into  three 
classes,  namely:  first,  those  who  believed  that  the  Union  could  be  saved  by 
conciliation  and  compromise,  and  hence  opposed  coercion;  second,  those  who, 
after  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter,  came  out  in  support  of  the  Administra- 
tion's policy  of  coercion,  and  many  of  whom  were  absorbed  by  the  Kepub- 
lican  party;  third,  those  who  supported  the  war,  but  remained  faithful 
to  the  old  party  organization  and  through  it  sought  to  control  the  policy 
of  conducting  the  war. 

BOS  Iowa  State  Register,  February  18,  1863. 


174  THE  POLITICS   OF  IOWA 

1860,  and  thorough  organization  was  recommended  for 
an  effective  partisan  campaign. 

Mr.  Frank  W.  Palmer,  of  the  Iowa  State  Register,  on 
February  18,  1863,  editorially  set  before  the  public  just 
what  the  Eepublican  committee  meant  when  they  invited 
all  to  aid  in  the  selection  of  delegates  to  the  State  Con- 
vention, and  to  share  in  its  deliberations.  He  presented 
the  case  so  accurately  that  it  may  be  well  to  quote  him 
verbatim.  Said  he : 

We  trust,  however,  that  no  man  will  be  encouraged  to  believe 
that  the  Republican  organization  and  faith  are  to  be  remodeled 
to  meet  the  views  of  any  class  of  Unionists  who  would  other- 
wise refuse  to  cooperate  with  us.  We  know  too  well  the  dangers 
which  the  State  escaped,  to  be  a  party  to  such  an  error.  Two 
years  ago  the  Republicans  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Indiana  and  Illinois  abandoned  their  partisan  identity  and  co- 
operated in  what  was  called  a  "Union"  organization.  Iowa  Re- 
publicans were  beset  from  within  the  State  and  from  without 
to  follow  the  example.  Certain  good  friends  in  our  neighboring 
State  of  Illinois  were  even  inclined  to  take  our  politics  in  hand 
and  make  the  reconstruction  for  us,  whether  we  would  or  no. 
When,  however,  the  moment  for  action  came,  the  Republicans 
throughout  the  State,  with  a  devotion  to  principle  and  an  ex- 
hibition of  sagacity  which  did  them  honor,  rallied  with  more 
zeal  than  ever  under  the  folds  of  their  partisan  flag,  battled  in 
their  own  way  for  the  support  of  the  State  and  National  Ad- 
ministrations of  their  own  selection,  and  when  the  contest  of  that 
year  was  over  it  was  found  [that]  they  had  elected  their  State 
and  Legislative  tickets  by  a  larger  majority  than  had  ever  been 
received  by  the  nominees  of  any  party. 

This  is  exactly  what  was  done  in  1861.  It  shows  an  in- 
tense partisan  spirit,  and  it  characterizes  the  party  in  the 
State  in  all  the  fifty  years  following.  But  next  follows 
the  exposition  on  the  question  of  the  Republican  party 
organization  and  its  future  policy. 

We  know  of  only  one  organization  which  meets  these  semi- 
Traitors  boldly  at  every  point,  and  that  is  the  Republican  party. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  175 

It  sustains  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  efforts  to  reestablish  authority 
over  all  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  for  it  placed  him 
in  power.  It  sustains  the  Laws  of  Congress  for  raising  and 
maintaining  an  adequate  Military  force,  for  the  Confiscation  of 
Rebel  Property,  and  for  the  Emancipation  of  slaves  of  Rebel 
masters,  for  it  was  mainly  by  the  votes  of  its  Representatives 
that  these  Laws  were  passed.  It  believes  that  the  preservation 
of  the  Union  is  a  thousand  times  more  important  than  the  pres- 
ervation of  Slavery,  and  as  both  cannot  exist  together,  the  latter 
shall  give  way  to  the  former.  It  believes  that  Manhood  is  not 
necessarily  confined  to  any  particular  color  or  race ;  that  he  who 
battles  for  the  maintenance  of  the  American  Union,  thereby 
serves  the  cause  of  Political  Liberty  and  should  be  entitled  to  its 
rewards;  and  that  the  poorest  and  most  degraded  bondman  who 
offers  his  services  in  the  defence  of  the  Republic,  is  better  than 
any  white  Traitor,  North  or  South,  who  by  ballot  or  bullet  is 
seeking  its  overthrow. 

These  are  the  political  parties  and  creeds  between  which 
Northern  Freemen  are  to  choose!  If  a  man  is  a  Patriot  and  a 
Christian,  he  will  stand  by  the  Party  which  most  zealously  stands 
by  the  Government  and  Human  Liberty!  If  he  is  an  incipient 
or  an  open  Traitor,  he  will  affiliate  with  any  organization  which 
assumes  that  the  Government  of  our  Fathers  is  of  less  value  than 
the  preservation  of  African  Slavery ! 

Two  things  stand  out  clearly  in  this  editorial,  namely, 
that  there  are  but  two  parties  in  Iowa,  one  of  which  is  the 
Eepublican  party,  the  " party  of  the  Union",  whose  iden- 
tity and  organization  are  to  be  kept  intact,  and  whose 
program  is  to  carry  out  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation.  There  was  no  thought  of 
the  abandonment  of  the  party  organization,  as  in  some 
States.  That  idea  was  universally  spurned  by  the  lead- 
ers in  1863.  The  situation  is  likewise  succinctly  stated  by 
the  editor  of  the  Fair  field  Ledger,  who  said:  "We  are 
pleased  to  have  the  call  made  by  Republicans.  It  is  the 
only  Union  party  in  the  State,  and  it  would  be  a  crime  to 
disband  the  organization  at  this  crisis  of  the  country's 


176  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

affairs".506  He  then  informs  his  readers  that  the  "cop- 
perheads and  traitors ' '  were  actively  engaged  in  reorgan- 
izing their  broken  ranks,  and  urges  ' '  all  true  Union  men ' ' 
to  join  the  Republican  party,  the  only  requirement  being 
faithfulness  to  the  Union.  There  is  no  suggestion  here  of 
fusion,  nor  any  thought  of  disbanding  the  party. 

This  partisan  idea  was  shared  now  by  Senator 
Grimes,507  who,  it  will  be  recalled,  favored  the  oblitera- 
tion of  the  party  name,  platform,  and  organization  in 
1861.  He  no  doubt  found  the  people  again  in  advance  of 
the  leaders  and  he  was  to  be  reflected  to  the  United  States 
Senate.  In  a  letter  of  May  3d  to  the  editor  of  the  Linn 
County  Register,  concerning  the  matter,  he  said,  that 
while  he  did  not  want  reelection,  he  would  accept  it,  "if 
they  are  satisfied  that  the  interests  of  the  country  and  our 
party  require  it".508 

Preparatory  to  the  State  Convention,  the  Republicans 
held  county  "Union  mass-meetings"  for  arousing  enthu- 
siasm and  for  choosing  delegates.  The  first  meeting 
came,  in  fact,  before  the  call  for  the  State  Convention,  and 
was  held  at  Oskaloosa  on  February  13th.509  The  next 
day  a  similar  meeting  was  held  at  Ottumwa.510  Both  of 
these  meetings  were  addressed  by  Mr.  Cole,  who  was  the 
"wheel-horse"  speaker  during  this  early  campaign.  At 
the  latter  place  the  committee  had  also  secured  the  serv- 
ices of  Judge  David  Rorer511  of  Burlington,  and  imported 
from  Indiana  the  Hon.  George  J.  Wright.  Mr.  Wright 
spoke  in  the  open  air  and  profoundly  stirred  the  throng 

SOB  Quoted  by  the  Iowa  State  Register,  March  18,  1863. 

sorgalter's  Life  of  James  W.  Grimes,  p.  150. 

sos  gaiter 's  Life  of  James  W.  Grimes,  p.  236. 

509  Iowa  State  Register,  February  17,  1863. 

sio  Ottumwa  Courier,  February  19,  1863. 

511  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series),  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  116-124. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PEEIOD  177 

of  two  thousand  people  who  stood  shoe-top  deep  in  mud 
for  two  hours,  while  Mr.  Cole  spoke  to  an  indoor  audience 
of  one  thousand,  giving  a  "  clear,  logical  and  eloquent 
argument,  addressed  to  the  understanding  of  all  thinking 
and  patriotic  men ' ',  and  Judge  Eorer,  who  followed  him, 
literally  "skinned  the  copperheads  alive ",512  Similar 
meetings  were  held  at  Bloomfield  on  the  21st,513  at  Mus- 
catine  on  the  28th,514  at  Keokuk  on  March  2nd,515  at 
Indianola  on  March  3rd,516  at  Burlington  on  the  6th,517 
at  Clarinda  on  the  13th,  and  so  on  through  the  spring 
months.  In  some  counties,  as  for  instance  in  Poweshiek, 
Union  meetings  were  held  in  all  parts  of  the  county.518 
At  the  Indianola  meeting,  which  Mr.  Cole  addressed,  "the 
gallant  Unionists  of  all  Warren  [County]  were  greatly 
encouraged,  and  many  Democrats  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  leaders  of  the  party  in  this  State  are  essentially 
hostile  to  the  old  flag".  The  speaker  "left  no  spot  where 
a  copperhead  might  stand".  These  meetings  sufficiently 
illustrate  the  Eepublican  spirit  in  1863.  The  Eepublicans 
in  their  "Union"  meetings  and  in  their  county  conven- 
tions to  choose  delegates  to  the  State  Convention,  were, 
in  the  main,  emphatic  in  declaring  themselves  to  be  the 
"Union  party".519  Most  of  the  resolutions  endorsed  by 
detailed  enumeration  the  various  drastic  measures  of 
Congress  and  acts  of  the  President.  They  show  a  marked 
unanimity  of  spirit  and  purpose,  and  while  they  reflect 

512  Iowa  State  Eegister,  March  4,  1863. 
sis  Burlington  Eawlceye,  March  4,  1863. 
si*  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  March  2,  1863. 
sis  Keokuk  Gate  City,  March  2,  1863. 
sis  Iowa  State  Eegister,  March  11,  1863. 
SIT  Burlington  Hawkeye,  March  7,  1863. 
sis  Iowa  State  Eegister,  March  25,  1863. 
519  Burlington  HawTceye,  June  17,  1863. 

12 


178  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

the  primary  source  of  the  State  platform,  they  were,  if 
anything,  more  radical.520 

The  "Union"  meeting  at  Keokuk,  above  noted,  was 
possibly  the  one  exception  to  the  general  rule  of  these 
meetings;  for  here,  at  this  old  "Union"  center,  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  launch  again  a  non-partisan  ' '  Union ' r 
movement.  A  significant  series  of  resolutions  was  adopt- 
ed, the  following  being  illustrative  of  their  position : 

Resolved,  That  we  will  henceforth  recognize  no  distinction  but 
that  of  Patriots  and  Traitors ;  that  the  words  ' l  Republican ' '  and 
"Democrat"  are  obsolete  terms  and  should  be  expunged  from 
common  use  and  memory,  never  to  be  revived  again  until  the 
Union  is  entirely  saved  and  the  Rebellion  only  a  thing  of  his- 
tory.521 

The  last  clause  is  quite  interesting  in  view  of  the  course 
taken  by  the  Eepublican  party  in  the  nation  at  large.522 
The  ' '  Unionists ' '  at  this  meeting  took  a  firm  stand  in  sup- 
port of  the  Lincoln  Administration,  but  declared  that 
they  would  i  l  eschew  all  nominations  made  by  any  party ' ', 
The  meeting  was  in  the  hands  of  genuine  non-partisan 
advocates,  and  while  there  were  Eepublicans  represent- 
ed, the  chief  men  were  the  earlier  "Unionists"  and  the 
War  Democrats  who  honestly  favored  a  fusion  party. 

To  head  off  this  non-partisan  movement,  and  especially, 
so  it  was  claimed,  to  counteract  the  early  Democratic  ac- 
tivity in  the  State,  the  Eepublicans  adopted  the  plan  of 
forming  local  "Union  Clubs"  or  "Union  Leagues". 
Editor  Palmer,  of  the  Iowa  State  Register,  thought  that 
it  behooved  the  Eepublicans  to  bestir  themselves,  or  the 
State  would  meet  the  fate  of  New  York,  to  the  '  *  disgrace 

520  The  texts  of  the  Lucas  and  fhe  Mills  County  resolutions  are  found  in 
the  Iowa  State  Register  for  April  17th  and  June  17th,  respectively. 

521  Text  of  Eesolutions  in  Keokuk  Gate  City,  March  5,  1863. 

522  See  Professor  Dunning 's  article  in  the  American  Historical  Review  for 
October,  1910,  pp.  56-63. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  179 

of  the  good  name  of  Iowa".523  But  while  Palmer,  as  also 
others,  emphasized  the  danger  from  the  Democracy,  it 
was  rather  a  cloak  to  cover  their  real  concern  lest  another 
" Union"  party  movement  should  appear  to  the  disquiet 
and  possible  disruption  of  the  Eepublican  party.  Thus 
the  holding  of  " Union"  meetings,  passing  " Union"  re- 
solves, and  choosing  " Union"  delegates  for  the  Repub- 
lican State  Convention,  was  supplemented  by  organizing 
" Union"  clubs  to  further  a  "Union"  campaign  by  the 
only  ' i  Union ' '  party  in  the  State  —  the  Eepublican  party. 
It  is  true  that  the  first  Union  Club  was  formed  at  the 
non-partisan  "Union"  meeting  at  Keokuk,  but  at  Mr. 
Palmer's  suggestion,  the  Eepublican  party  took  up  the 
matter  and  forestalled  the  non-partisan  movement,  turn- 
ing these  clubs  into  the  channels  of  the  Eepublican  party. 
Then  beginning  with  the  formation  of  a  "  Union  League ' ' 
at  Ottumwa  on  March  20th,524  local  clubs  or  leagues  were 
soon  formed  throughout  the  State.  On  June  16th,  the  day 
before  the  Eepublican  State  Convention,  the  Union  Clubs 
convened  at  Des  Moines  and  organized  a  State  Council,525 
fixing  upon  June  2nd,  1864,  at  Marshalltown,  as  the  time 
and  place  for  the  first  annual  meeting.  The  Eepublicans, 
therefore,  retained  their  party  identity  and  organization, 
and  assured  their  political  supremacy. 

THE  REPUBLICANS  IN  STATE  CONVENTION 

After  four  months  of  preparation,526  the  Eepublicans 
met  in  State  Convention  at  Des  Moines  on  June  17th.  It 
was  the  largest  convention  of  the  party's  history,  there 
being  but  two  small  counties  unrepresented.527  As  usual 

sss  Iowa  State  Register,  March  18,  1863. 

524  Iowa  State  Register,  March  25,  1863. 

525  iowa  State  Register,  June  23,  1863. 

526  Burlington  Eawlceye,  June  20,  1863. 

527  Burlington  HawTceye,  June  30,  1863.     Full  proceedings   are  given  in 
this  issue. 


180  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

considerable  political  sagacity  was  displayed  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Convention.  Major  Ed.  Wright,  home 
on  a  furlough,  was  made  temporary  chairman,  while 
Joshua  Tracy,  an  early  war  convert,  was  the  permanent 
"  president ";  other  former  Democrats  were  put  upon 
committees  and  every  element  was  in  some  way  recog- 
nized. 

The  convention  was  notable  for  the  large  number  of 
soldiers  present.  In  fact  it  became  a  soldiers '  reception, 
and  prominent  officers  —  General  M.  M.  Crocker,  Colonel 
J.  A.  Williamson,  Colonel  William  M.  Stone,  and  others  - 
occupied  seats  on  the  platform.  While  waiting  for  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Credentials,  enthusiasm  ran 
high;  a  soldiers'  love-feast  was  held,  their  deeds  were 
applauded,  and  they  were  feted  and  lionized.  The  chief 
speakers  were  Attorney  General  Nourse,  J.  B.  Grinnell, 
and  Hiram  Price.  But  with  all  the  jollification  and  good 
feeling  there  was  some  real  work  before  the  Convention, 
and  at  least  one  stubborn  fight  —  that  for  the  guberna- 
torial nomination. 

There  were  several  persistent  candidates  for  the  nom- 
ination of  Governor,  each  with  his  steadfast  supporters. 
An  informal  ballot528  was  taken  which  revealed  General 
Fitz  Henry  Warren  and  Secretary  of  State  Elijah  Sells 
to  be  the  high  men,  with  Colonel  Stone  a  close  possibility. 
After  seven  ballots  it  became  evident  that  neither  War- 
ren nor  Sells  could  be  nominated.  The  Sells  supporters 
began  to  desert  him  in  the  fifth  ballot,  and  Warren 
reached  his  highest  vote,  335,  in  the  sixth.  When  the  148 
solid  Sells  men  saw  that  they  would  be  beaten,  upon  the 
advice529  of  their  favorite,  they  resolved  at  least  to  pre- 
528  informal  ballot:  Warren,  297;  Sells,  254;  Stone,  181;  Henry  C. 
Caldwell,  31;  General  Crocker,  18. 

529  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series),  Vol.  II,  pp.  525,  526. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  181 

vent  Warren's  receiving  the  plum,  and  threw  their 
strength  to  Colonel  Stone,  who  was  named  on  the  eighth 
ballot.530  Just  before  the  eighth  ballot  was  taken,  how- 
ever, it  was  agreed,  in  order  to  test  the  strength  of  the 
vote,  to  take  another  ballot,  no  matter  what  the  result 
might  be ;  but  immediately  after  the  ballot  General  War- 
ren saved  his  reputation,  amid  the  shouts  of  the  conven- 
tion, by  making  a  happy  speech  in  withdrawing  from  the 
race,  while  Colonel  Stone  accepted  the  honor  as  appar- 
ently coming  to  him,  as  his  friends  claimed,  unexpectedly 
and  without  solicitation.  He  could  hardly  be  regarded, 
however,  as  a  "dark  horse",  for  his  supporters  were  too 
numerous  and  too  well  organized.  The  interesting  point 
is  that  a  soldier  was  nominated,  a  course  in  keeping  with 
the  general  feeling  that  "we  ought  in  these  stirring  times 
to  have  a  military  man  at  the  head  of  our  State  Govern- 
ment".531 It  was  this  that  militated  against  Mr.  Sells 
and  which,  had  it  not  been  for  the  Sells  forces,  would 
have  landed  General  Warren  in  the  Governor's  chair. 

The  ticket  was  completed  at  the  evening  session  by 
naming  Enoch  W.  Eastman,  a  man  whom  Republicans 
were  always  glad  to  honor,  for  Lieutenant  Governor,  and 
for  Supreme  Justice,  John  F.  Dillon;  both  men  being 
named  on  the  first  ballot.  The  Convention  then  turned 
to  platform-making. 

The  platform532  was  reported  by  A.  B.  F.  Hildreth, 
editor  of  the  Charles  City  Intelligencer,  a  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions.533  It  was  unanimously  adopt- 
ed. The  idea  of  the  Republicans  on  the  question  of  party 

sso  Eighth  ballot:    Stone,  398;  Warren,  376;  Caldwell,  18;  Sells,  11. 

531  Burlington  Hawkeye,  June  22,  1863. 

532  FairalFs  Manual  of  Iowa  Politics,  Vol.  I,  pp.  66,  67. 

533  The  Committee,  by  districts,  was:    L.  G.  Palmer,  Dr.  Joy,  J.  B.  Pack- 
ard, Isaac  Pendleton,  J.  H.  Gray,  William  Loughridge,  W.  S.  Eddy,  H.  W. 
Gray,  C.  A.  Wellman,  A.  B.  F.  Hildreth,  J.  D.  Hunter. 


182  THE  POLITICS   OF  IOWA 

is  further  emphasized  by  significantly  declaring  them- 
selves to  be  "a  convention  of  representatives  of  the  loyal 
people  of  the  State  assembled  under  the  call  of  the  Re- 
publican organisation  of  the  State ".  The  platform  was 
short.  It  defended  the  Government's  right  to  sustain  its 
natural  existence,  and  endorsed  by  specific  mention  the 
National  Administration  measures,  omitting  however,  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation  as  such.  They  endorsed  the 
soldier  vote  law,  praised  the  soldiers,  "both  native  and 
foreign  born",  extended  thanks  to  Governor  Kirkwood 
for  his  wise  administration,  and  declared  for  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  Union,  to  the  subordination  of  party  and  all 
other  interests.  The  platform,  therefore,  was  less  radical 
and  partisan  than  many  of  the  earlier  utterances.  But 
this  more  conservative  tone  was  not  so  much  an  indica- 
tion of  partisan  weakening,  as  it  was  an  evidence  of  poli- 
tic foresight;  for  such  a  phrase  as  "subordination  of 
party ' '  was  calculated  to  ease  the  minds  of  conservatives, 
and  it  had  a  potent  effect. 

THE  DEMOCRATIC  STATE  CONVENTION  OF   1863 

Early  in  1863  the  Democrats  began  to  consider  the 
question  of  party  reorganization  for  the  State  Conven- 
tion. Their  goal  was,  as  ever,  the  recapture  of  the  State. 
They  followed  the  policy  of  the  previous  two  years,  of 
holding  their  Convention  just  before  that  of  the  adminis- 
tration party,  and  now  even  took  the  lead,  calling  the 
convention  before  the  Republicans  called  theirs.  On  Jan- 
uary 22nd  the  State  Central  Committee  sent  out  a  call534 
for  the  State  Convention  to  meet  on  May  20th  at  Des 
Moines,  all  counties  being  urged  to  organize  and  send  a 
full  representation.  In  consequence  Democratic  activity 
began  fully  a  month  before  the  Republican  launching. 

534  Dubuque  Herald,  January  22,  1863. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  183 

There  were  no  platform  declarations  in  the  call,  for  the 
party  leaders  were  divided,  and  while  the  majority  of  the 
State  Committee  was  composed  of  moderate  Democrats 

-  those  supporting  tjie  war,  yet  remaining  in  the  party 

-  they  wished  above  all  for  party  harmony.    But  the  old 
conservative  leaders  or  peace  Democrats  on  the  side  lines, 
had  a  program  of  their  own ;  they  were  for  peace,  and  at 
once  began  to  shape  the  course  in  various  local  centers 
toward  their  policy  anent  the  coming  convention. 

At  Democracy's  citadel,  Dubuque,  a  call  was  sent  out 
for  a  "  Grand  Peace  Convention  "  to  be  held  on  the  eve  of 
Washington's  birthday,  and  by  a  peculiar  coincidence  it 
was  issued  on  the  12th  of  February,  Lincoln's  birthday. 
The  call535  was  signed  by  the  "Democratic  Executive 
Committee" — George  W.  Jones,  J.  F.  Bates,  Thomas  S. 
Wilson,  D.  A.  Mahoney,  and  three  others  —  and  was  sent 
to  "the  conservative  citizens"  of  the  counties  of  Du- 
buque, Clayton,  Jones,  Jackson  and  Delaware.  Whether 
it  was  to  be  a  "Peace  Convention"  on  national  issues,  or 
a  local  get-together  Democratic  meeting,  can  not  be  ascer- 
tained by  the  call,  but  certain  it  is,  that  it  was  to  be  con- 
servative, and  that  the  two  Dubuque  factions  of  some 
years '  standing  were  acting  together,  for  both  ex-Senator 
Jones  and  ex-Judge  Wilson  were  among  the  signers  of 
the  call.  The  chief  speaker  of  the  occasion  was  to  be 
Henry  Clay  Dean,536  while  among  others  were  the  veteran 
Augustus  C.  Dodge,  and  David  Sheean  of  Galena,  Illi- 
nois. The  meeting  was  held  as  per  schedule  with  an  at- 
tendance of  some  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  people.537 
The  list  of  speakers  was  increased,  considerable  enthusi- 

535  Dubuque  Herald,  February  12,  1863. 

536  Sketch  of  Dean  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series),  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  299- 
304. 

537  Dubuque  Herald,  February  22,  1863. 


184  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

asm  was  worked  up,  and  the  conservative  wing  of  the 
party  launched  its  peace  policy. 

Similar  meetings  were  held  at  other  important  centers, 
the  first  one  in  fact  being  on  January  31st,  at  Oskaloosa, 
where  it  was  reported  that  from  six  to  eight  thousand 
people  were  present.538  Henry  Clay  Dean,  it  seems,  was 
foremost  in  rallying  the  Democracy  to  the  peace  pro- 
gram. He  was  always  a  drawing-card,  people  coming  out 
of  curiosity  to  see  him,  as  well  as  to  hear  his  vituperative 
oratory,  and  especially  now  to  gauge  his  speech  for  the 
detection  of  treason.  On  March  31st  he  appeared  in  Des 
Moines,  "disguised  in  a  clean  shirt,  "  to  make  a  speech, 
but  the  large  crowd  which  met  "out  of  curiosity  to  see 
the  creature  '  '  was  disappointed,  since  his  speech  was  less 
inflammatory  than  usual.539  Dean  was  a  leader  of  the 
conservatives,  who  like  the  Eepublicans,  were  wholly  com- 
mitted to  the  partisan  course.  He  was  not  in  favor  of 
any  "Union  Party  "  or  fusion  movement,  nor  yet  of 
the  Democrats  giving  countenance  to  the  war.  Speak- 
ing at  Iowa  City  earlier  in  March  he  veritably  pulverized 
the  New  York  Democracy  for  even  moderately  support- 
ing the  war,  and  declared  that  Governor  Seymour  was 
the  mere  "offal  of  Democracy  ".  But  as  to  the  question 
of  policy  the  party  was  all  along  divided.  One  thing, 
however,  was  quite  noticeable  early  in  1863  :  there  was  a 
more  temperate  tone  in  the  utterances  of  the  Democratic 
press,  as  also  of  the  Democratic  speakers,  and  the  Eepub- 
licans, finding  less  to  incriminate  the  Democrats  by,  made 
the  most  of  their  general  partisan  opposition  to  the  Ad- 
ministration. 

The  hoped-for  Democratic  awakening  was  slow  in  ma- 
terializing. With  all  their  efforts  at  arousing  interest  in 


Herald,  February  13,  1863. 
539  Iowa  State  Register,  April  8,  1863. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  185 

the  announced  State  Convention,  it  finally  became  evi- 
dent to  the  Democrats,  that  the  preparations,  thus  far 
made,  would  not  warrant  the  holding  of  the  convention 
as  advertised.  The  leaders  also  began  to  mistrust  the 
advisability  of  leading  out  with  platform  utterances  and 
the  naming  of  a  ticket.  They  began  to  wonder  if,  after 
all,  it  were  not  the  part  of  wisdom  and  good  politics  to 
let  the  Republicans  take  the  initiative,  and  utter  the  chal- 
lenges. Consequently  it  was  decided  to  postpone  the 
Convention,  and  three  weeks  before  the  time  set,  another 
call,  signed  by  the  State  Chairman  J.  M.  Ellwood,  and  the 
Secretary,  J.  C.  Turk,  to  postpone  the  convention  to  July 
12th,  was  issued. 

At  the  appointed  time,  after  two  months  of  hard  labor 
on  the  part  of  the  State  Committee,  they  were  repaid  by 
seeing  the  clans  gathering  at  Des  Moines.  But  despite 
all  efforts,  when  they  assembled,  there  were  but  twenty- 
eight  counties  represented  with  two  hundred  and  some 
thirty  odd  delegates,  and  thus  the  political  advantage  of 
following  the  Republicans  was  largely  negative. 

The  Convention  was  presided  over  by  Laurel  Sum- 
mers, while  D.  N.  Richardson  of  the  Davenport  Democrat 
was  the  secretary.  From  the  first  it  was  again  clear  that 
the  Democrats  were  hopelessly  divided;  it  was  the 
conservative  peace  wing,  heirs  of  the  Mahoneyites  of 
1861,  as  against  the  liberal  or  War  Democrats.  Both  fac- 
tions, however,  agreed  upon  the  plan  of  adopting  a  plat- 
form before  naming  a  ticket,  and  then  the  Convention 
gave  itself  up  to  the  annual  speech-making,  participated 
in  by  LeGrand  Byington,  Dan  0.  Finch,  and  John  F. 
Duncombe.540 

The  evening  session  was  devoted  to  platform-making. 

5*0  Biased  proceedings  are  found  in  the  Iowa  State  Register,  July  15,  1863. 


186  TEE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

The  Committee  on  Eesolutions541  presented  a  platform542 
of  sixteen  planks,  of  which  the  first  five,  consisting  of  a 
re-statement  of  the  old  and  sound  Democratic  principles, 
reflected  their  constitutional  grievances.  They  made  a 
distinction  between  the  Government  and  the  Administra- 
tion, a  classification  which  the  Republicans  would  not 
admit ;  and  since  the  Administration  was  the  agent  of  the 
Government,  the  Democrats  held  the  former  subject  to 
criticism,  disapproval,  or  even  condemnation,  according 
to  its  acts.  The  remaining  eleven  resolves  stated  their 
position  on  National  issues,  condemning  the  war,  not  as 
a  war  to  save  the  Union,  but  as  an  emancipation  war. 
They  urged  the  restoration  of  peace,  and  asked  the  se- 
ceded States  to  return  to  their  former  allegiance,  prom- 
ising them  assistance  in  the  process,  even  to  the  extent 
of  securing  their  institutions  and  their  rights.  They 
praised  the  Iowa  soldiery  and  opposed  military  govern- 
ment where  civil  authority  only  should  rule.  Finally  they 
expressed  satisfaction  in  the  growing  conservative  senti- 
ment in  the  North  as  indicated  by  the  autumn  elections, 
and  again  avowed  their  adherence  to  the  Constitution 
and  the  Union.  There  was  considerable  acrimony  dis- 
played in  the  debate  on  the  resolutions,  especially  as  to 
their  form,  and  as  finally  adopted  they  were  a  compro- 
mise. A  separate  series  of  resolutions  on  State  issues 
was  also  adopted,  which  was  to  have  been  included  in  the 
platform,  but  apparently  was  suppressed  by  the  State 
Committee  until  late  in  the  campaign. 

The  testing  of  the  strength  of  the  two  factions  came  in 
the  naming  of  a  ticket,  especially  in  connection  with  the 

541  Committee :     Joseph  K.   Hornish,   Henry   H.   Trimble,   E.    B.   Parrott, 
C.  C.  Smeltzer,  P.  Gad  Bryan,  Charles  Negus,  Edward  H.  Thayer,  Stillson 
Fetching,  Daniel  Hammer,  John  E.  Hull. 

542  FairalPs  Manual  of  Iowa  Politics,  Vol.  I,  pp.  64-66. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  1£7 

nomination  for  Governor.  The  issue  was  that  of  a  sol- 
dier candidate.  An  informal  ballot  brought  out  three 
candidates,  namely,  General  James  M.  Tuttle,  with  182 
votes;  LeGrand  Byington  with  136;  and  Charles  Mason 
with  104.  Before  the  third  ballot  was  taken  Mr.  Mason 
withdrew,  and  when  the  vote  was  cast  both  factions 
claimed  the  victory.  A  forensic  encounter  ensued  which 
turned  upon  General  Tuttle 's  war  record.  The  Tuttle 
supporters  were  led  by  Finch,  Trimble,  Hammer,  Mc- 
Clintock,  and  Ed.  Johnson,  while  those  who  assailed  Tut- 
tle were  Mahoney,  Jennings,  Hutchins,  Negus,  Sheward, 
Cassady,  and  Byington  himself.  The  latter  group  depre- 
cated the  soldier  craze,  while  the  former,  influenced  by 
the  Republican  policy,  asserted  that  with  a  soldier  on  the 
ticket,  they  could  win;  otherwise  they  could  not.  The 
Democrats  had  some  good  gubernatorial  timber  but  most 
of  it  had  already  deserted  the  party.  James  M.  Tuttle, 
however,  was  among  the  War  Democrats  and  an  officer 
in  the  field  who  remained  with  the  party;  such  a  man,  it 
was  thought,  ought  not  to  be  overlooked,  and  the  Tuttle 
boom  was  started. 

Prior  to  the  State  Convention,  the  committee  forming  a 
close  ring  decided  on  Tuttle  as  the  man  to  head  the  tick- 
et, and  sent  an  emissary  to  Vicksburg,  to  present  the  mat- 
ter to  General  Tuttle,  and  if  possible,  to  obtain  his  con- 
sent. Arrangements  were  made  with  the  General  that 
upon  his  decision  to  accept  the  proposed  nomination,  he 
should  telegraph  the  fact,  together  with  the  kind  of  plat- 
form he  would  run  upon,  to  Mr.  William  F.  Coolbaugh, 
then  in  Chicago,  who  in  turn  would  inform  the  inner  cir- 
cle at  Des  Moines.  Soon  thereafter,  the  State  Central 
Committee  received  the  following  telegram : 


188  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Chicago,  July  8,  1863. 

D.  0.  FINCH— Des  Moines :  The  General  will  accept  and  pre- 
fers the  New  York  soldier.  W.  F.  CooLBAUGH.543 

Thus  was  the  Committee  apprised,  in  this  cipher  des- 
patch, of  two  things:  Turtle's  willingness  to  run,  and  the 
kind  of  platform  he  desired.  The  mysterious  term  '  *  New 
York  soldier "  meant  that  General  Tuttle  wanted  such  a 
platform  as  Governor  Seymour  stood  upon  in  New  York. 
It  was  a  conservative  war  platform,  and  by  making  in- 
roads upon  the  Republicans,  was  successful  in  New  York. 
Why  might  not  the  same  policy  succeed  in  Iowa?  But 
unlike  the  New  York  situation,  the  Republicans  of  Iowa 
were  able  to  hold  the  conservatives  and  therefore  the 
Democrats  were  deprived  of  a  following  which  the  New 
York  Democracy  received.  Moreover,  while  there  was  a 
strong  element  among  the  Iowa  Democrats  who  hoped 
that,  by  adopting  a  conservative  war  policy  and  naming 
a  soldier  for  Governor,  they  might  wrest  from  the  Re- 
publicans their  monopoly  of  the  State  government,  yet 
the  peace  wing  was  strong  enough  to  forestall  their  plan, 
and  the  party  remained  divided. 

But  how  did  the  scheme  to  nominate  Tuttle  work  out 
in  the  convention?  The  conservative  faction,  willing  to 
compromise  on  the  nomination,  withdrew  Byington's 
name  and  put  up  instead  Maturin  L.  Fisher.544  The  war 
faction,  however,  claimed  that  Tuttle 's  nomination  was 
already  made;  the  word  had  been  sent  out  and  was  re- 
ceived with  the  most  positive  approbation.  The  deadlock 
was  continued  for  a  time,  and  finally  the  War  Democrats 
yielded  and  another  ballot  was  taken  which  resulted  in 
Fisher's  nomination  by  a  majority  of  thirty-one.  The 
convention  became  a  mob  and  it  was  with  the  greatest 

543  Iowa  State  Register,  July  15,  1863. 

544  For  portrait  of  Mr.  Fisher  see  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series,  Vol.  VII, 
p.  93). 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTKUCTION  PERIOD  189 

difficulty  that  a  break-up  or  a  bolt  was  prevented.  The 
absolute  necessity  of  maintaining  even  apparent  har- 
mony produced  the  anomaly  of  a  "unanimous  nomina- 
tion" accompanied  by  a  protest.  The  convention  then 
adjourned  to  the  next  day,  when  the  ticket  was  completed. 
John  F.  Buncombe  was  named  for  Lieutenant-Governor, 
and  Charles  Mason  for  Supreme  Justice.  Thus  the  peace 
wing  was  in  control,  having  both  the  ticket  and  the  plat- 
form, the  latter  being  almost  identical  with  the  Vallan- 
digham  platform  of  Ohio. 

An  incident  illustrative  of  the  folly  of  the  radical  con- 
servatives occurred  at  an  overflow  meeting  at  the  State 
Fair  Grounds.  The  victorious  peace  element,  emboldened 
and  defiant,  made  shipwreck  of  whatever  advantage  it  had 
attained.  Among  the  speakers  at  this  meeting  was  the 
indefatigable  D.  A.  Mahoney,  who  declared  that  since  the 
war  was  destroying  both  slavery  and  the  Union,  the  time 
for  forcible  resistance  to  the  Government  would  soon  ar- 
rive. This  not  only  made  the  protesting  faction  deter- 
mined upon  another  course,  but  it  alarmed  the  Eepub- 
licans  and  gave  them  added  material  to  strengthen  their 
"Union"  campaign.  The  Democracy  was  facing  its  most 
disastrous  defeat. 

THE  DEMOCRATS  AGAIN  CHANGE  CANDIDATES 

The  Democratic  State  Convention  had  adjourned 
amidst  the  greatest  confusion.  The  party  was  in  no  mood 
to  enter  heartily  into  the  campaign.  The  protesting  mi- 
nority, supreme  in  the  State  Central  Committee,  held  an 
aftermath  session  of  several  weeks  and  finally,  adopting 
the  desperate  course  pursued  in  '61,  labored  to  bring 
about  the  desired  vacancy  at  the  head  of  the  ticket.  They 
managed  their  campaign  so  adroitly  that  they  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  frightening  Mr.  Fisher  from  the  ticket,  and 


190  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

then  took  formal  steps  to  make  General  Tuttle  the  nom- 
inee of  the  party. 

On  July  23rd,  Mr.  Fisher  sent  to  D.  N.  Richardson  his 
letter  of  declination.545  He  stated  that  he  took  the  step 
solely  with  the  good  of  the  party  in  view,  and  expressed 
the  hope  that  his  action  would  result  in  the  party's  tri- 
umph at  the  polls.  With  Mr.  Fisher  out  of  the  way,  the 
chairman  of  the  committee,  Mr.  Byington,  called  them  to- 
gether to  fill  the  vacancy.  The  committee  met  at  Burling- 
ton on  August  6th,  with  such  "collateral  leaders "546  as 
David  Sheward,  G.  M.  Todd,  Charles  Negus,  Joseph 
Street,  and  Jairus  E.  Neal,  as  advisory  to  the  committee, 
only  five  of  whom  were  present  —  Byington,  Carpenter, 
Cassady,  Plumer  and  Seberger.547  The  committee  tak- 
ing formal  action,  issued  the  following  resolution  in  justi- 
fication of  its  course : 

Resolved,  That  upon  mature  consideration  of  the  unfortunate 
dilemma  in  which  the  tardy  declination  of  Mr.  Fisher  has  placed 
the  Democracy  of  Iowa  —  of  the  very  limited  time  which  is  left 
for  prosecuting  the  canvass  —  of  the  disastrous  delay  and  great 
expense  of  holding  another  State  Convention,  without  reason- 
able prospects  to  us  of  securing  universal  harmony  thereby,  and 
especially  with  no  satisfactory  assurance  that  a  second  nomina- 
tion would  be  acquiesced  in  any  more  than  was  Mr.  Fisher's  — 
this  committee  cannot  feel  justified  in  calling  another  conven- 
tion of  the  party  at  this  late  day. 

Then  followed  in  true  Democratic  fashion  a  viva  voce 
vote  to  fill  the  vacancy,  resulting  in  three  votes  for  Gen- 
eral Tuttle  and  two  for  ex- Judge  Mason  —  Carpenter, 
Cassady,  and  Seberger  voting  for  the  former,  and  By- 
ington and  Plumer  for  the  latter.  Tuttle  was  then  de- 
clared to  be  the  nominee.  By  resolution  the  chairman  of 

545  Davenport  Democrat,  August  5,  1863. 

546  Iowa  State  Eegister,  August  12,  1863. 

547  Byington 's  letter  giving  an  account  of  the  meeting  of  the  Committee. 
—  Iowa  State  Press,  August  12,  1863. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  191 

the  committee  was  authorized  to  "restore,  if  possible,  the 
missing  resolutions  which  were  passed  by  the  late  Con- 
vention upon  State  issues,  and  cause  the  same  to  be  pub- 
lished as  part  of  our  party  platform  during  the  canvass 
and  also,  so  far  as  practicable,  to  be  debated  by  our  pub- 
lic speakers ".  After  ordering  that  this  action  should  be 
published  in  the  Democratic  papers  of  the  State,  as  also 
in  the  Chicago  Times,  the  "Sub-Convention'',  as  it  was 
dubbed,  adjourned. 

At  last  the  party  was  ready  actively  to  enter  upon  the 
campaign.  But  Democracy's  bark,  endeavoring  to  steer 
clear  of  Charybdis  and  of  Scylla,  struck  a  rock  and 
floundered;  for  it  can  not  be  said  that  General  Tuttle's 
nomination  was  ' '  acquiesced  in ' '  any  more  than  was  Fish- 
er's.  The  action  of  the  State  Committee  was  met  with 
indifference  and  disgust,  with  rage  and  determined  oppo- 
sition. Of  course  the  Democratic  opposition  was  to  a 
soldier  candidate.  Editor  Babbitt's  position  is  illustra- 
tive of  this  element.  On  the  very  day  the  committee  met, 
he  declared  that  if  left  to  a  vote  of  the  people,  ninety-five 
per  cent  would  choose  a  civilian  in  preference  to  a  mili- 
tary man,  the  "cries  of  availability  raised  by  political 
scullions  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding",  and  he 
showed  by  the  vote  of  two  years  before  that  the  populari- 
ty of  military  men  among  Iowa  Democrats  was  not 
great.548 

Mr.  Babbitt  was  a  "straight-out"  Democrat  and  called 
for  another  State  Convention,  a  good  and  true  one  which 
would  name  a  candidate  who  had  "never  endorsed  the 
unconstitutional  and  despotic  acts  of  the  present  corrupt 
and  despotic  Administration".  He  wanted  a  man,  there- 
fore, who  would  support  the  Constitution  and  enforce  the 
laws,  one  who  would  protect  the  rights  and  liberties  of 

548  Council  Bluffs  Bugle,  August  6,  1863. 


192  THE  POLITICS   OF  IOWA 

the  people  of  Iowa.  Such  a  man,  he  declared,  could  be 
elected,  whereas  one  who  professed  Democracy  and  prac- 
ticed Abolitionism  would  be  defeated.  Babbitt  was  of 
course  right,  for  people  generally  prefer  a  sincere  candi- 
date to  one  who  is  uncertain  and  inconsistent. 

But  while  there  was  large  opposition  to  a  "soldier 
candidate  ",  there  was  also  support  for  the  ticket,  and 
from  an  hitherto  unfriendly  source.  The  Dubuque  Her- 
ald soon  came  out  for  the  revised  ticket,  running  up  the 
Tuttle  standard.549  This,  however,  was  due  to  a  change 
in  the  management  of  that  paper,  Mr.  Mahoney  having 
early  in  the  year  sold  out,  though  not  until  now,  August 
llth,550  issuing  his  farewell  and  taking  his  departure. 
Patrick  Eobb,  formerly  of  the  Sioux  City  Register,  the 
new  owner  and  a  "  Union  "  Democrat,551  now  took  charge 
and  although  retaining  Mr.  Hutchins  as  editor,  moderate- 
ly reversed  the  policy  of  the  paper. 

Mr.  Byington  was,  of  course,  among  those  who  opposed 
the  nomination  of  Tuttle,  for  which  he  was  both  applaud- 
ed and  criticised.  Just  before  the  election  he  freed  him- 
self and  every  other  Democrat  from  any  obligation  to 
vote  for  General  Tuttle,  since  he  had  neither  accepted  the 
nomination  nor  the  party's  platform.552  The  Eepublican 
press  was  obliged  to  counteract  the  soldier  capital  in  the 

'549  Dubuque  Herald,  August  15,  1863. 
55<>Dubuqu0  Herald,  August  11,  1863. 

State  Register,  August  14,  1683. 


552  Letter  in  Iowa  State  Register,  October  21,  1863  : 

Iowa  City,  Aug.  24th,  1863. 
W.  H.  VANCE,  Esq., 
Keokuk,  Iowa. 

My  Dear  Sir:  —  Yours  of  the  19th  inst.  reached  me  this  moment.  No 
man  in  Iowa  feels  as  keenly  as  myself  the  unfortunate  position  in  which 
we  have  been  again  placed  by  disorganizers  and  time-servers.  As  Gen. 
Tuttle  has  not  accepted  our  nomination  or  placed  himself  upon  our  plat- 
form, every  democrat  must  settle  with  himself  the  amount  of  obligation, 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  193 

new  ticket,  and  did  so  by  showing  the  inconsistent  posi- 
tion of  General  Tuttle  —  that  of  a  soldier  in  the  service 
standing  upon  an  anti-war  platform.553  Thus  the  Repub- 
licans soon  had  Tuttle  classed,  according  to  editor  Stew- 
art, with  the  "malignant  copperheads ' ',  who  used  him 
merely  as  a  vote  catcher.554  We  shall  later  see  what  the 
army  thought  of  the  two  soldier  candidates. 

THE  CAMPAIGN  AND  ELECTION  OF   1863 

Intense  partisan  feeling  was  a  marked  characteristic  of 
the  war  time,  the  partisan  spirit  being  generally  connect- 
ed with  the  question  of  loyalty  to  the  Government.  There 
were  continuous  clashings  between  factions,  and  a  gen- 
eral spirit  of  lawlessness  and  of  bullying  existed  every- 
where. Lynch  law  justice  was  common,  all  the  way  from 
thrashing  an  offender,  destroying  his  property,  or  tor- 
turing him,  to  shooting  him  down.  Iowa  was  beginning 
to  feel  the  moral  effects  of  the  war  at  home.  During  the 
year  1863,  fifty-three  counties  reported  five  hundred  and 
twenty-two  criminal  prosecutions  in  the  District  Court, 
and  though  the  larger  number  of  the  accused  got  off  with 
fines,  yet  one-tenth  were  sentenced  to  the  penitenti- 
aries.555 The  lionized  soldier,  on  furlough  or  in  rendez- 
vous, was  always  a  political  factor  to  be  reckoned  with, 
and  in  the  nature  of  the  issues  a  disturbing  element,  as 

either  of  principle  or  policy,  which  rests  upon  him  to  support  such  a  candi- 
date as  he  makes  himself. 

Had  he  accepted  the  nomination  conferred,  an  implied  obligation,  at 
least,  to  stand  as  the  representative  of  the  party  would  have  compelled  all 
democrats  to  vote  for  him. 

Truly  yours, 

LEGRAND  BYINGTON. 

sss  Iowa  State  Register,  August  12,  1863. 

ss*Dubuque  Times,  September  23,  1863. 

555  Iowa  Legislative  Documents,  1864,  Vol.  II. 

13 


194  TEE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

well  as  a  dangerous  individual  to  offend.  The  secret  K. 
G.  C.'s  among  the  civilians  complicated  matters  many 
fold. 

Between  these  groups  and  their  supporters  the  print- 
ing press  was  always  a  factor.  More  than  one  opposition 
press  suffered  at  the  hands  of  "soldier  boys".556  Of 
course  the  "  peace  "  press  was  tantalizing,  but  no  more  so 
than  was  the  "loyal"  press  abusive.  This  phase  of  the 
party  spirit  caused  editor  Sheward,  of  the  Union  and 
Constitution,  to  emblazon  the  "butternut"  at  the  head  of 
his  editorial  column.  It  also  caused  a  "butternut  school- 
ma'am"  to  whip  several  of  her  pupils  for  singing  the 
then  new  and  popular  war  song,  ' i  Eally  Eound  the  Flag, 
Boys ' ',  and  likewise  caused  the  loyal  courts  to  fine  the  of- 
fending school  teacher.557  The  times  were  too  tense  for 
the  old-fashioned  Fourth  of  July  celebrations.  At  some 
places  they  were  dispensed  with,  or,  as  at  Burlington, 
where  two  rival  celebrations  were  held,  they  were  parti- 
san.558 One  of  these  was  conducted  by  the  "peace"  citi- 
zens, a  non-speech-making  picnic  celebration,  at  which 
only  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  Washington's 
Farewell  Address  could  be  read.  The  other  one  was  held 
by  the  Republicans,  in  a  stuffy  hall,  where  a  score  of  men, 
among  them  C.  Ben  Darwin,  Captain  T.  W.  Newman, 
Eev.  William  Salter,  Joshua  Tracey,  Charles  H.  Phelps, 
and  Theodore  Guelich,  delivered  red-hot,  five-minute 
speeches.559  The  "patriotic"  war  editorials  of  the  "loy- 

sse  The  press  of  Claggett  's  Keokuk  Constitution  was  in  1863  dumped  into 
the  Mississippi,  and  in  May  when  Mr.  Claggett  sought  protection  at  the 
hands  of  Governor  Kirkwood,  he  was  told  to  take  his  case  to  the  civil  courts. 
—  Burlington  HawTceye,  August  17,  1863. 

55r  Iowa  State  Eegister,  September  30,  1863. 

558  Burlington  Hawkeye,  June  19,  23  and  July  3,  1863. 

559  Burlington  Eawlceye,  July  7,  1863. 


CIVIL  WAE  AND  KECONSTKUCTION  PEEIOD  195 

al"  press560  were  equalled  by  the  " treasonous  "  editorials 
of  the  "peace"  press.561 

The  Eepublicans  placed  their  campaign  in  the  hands  of 
Thomas  F.  Withrow,  who  had  learned  the  art  of  cam- 
paigning from  his  friend  and  brother-in-law,  John  A. 
Kasson.  He  was  chosen  by  the  State  Central  Commit- 
tee562 and  conducted  the  campaign  with  the  usual  organ- 
ization and  dispatch.  Again  the  leading  home  speakers 
took  the  stump.  Of  these  Colonel  Stone  probably  became 
the  most  conspicuous,  though  both  Senators  Harlan  and 
Grimes,  General  S.  E.  Curtis,  C.  Ben  Darwin,  as  well  as 
others,  were  prominent  in  the  canvass.  Senator  Grimes 
again  made  a  long  tour  through  the  State.  He  declared 
that  he  had  never  before  been  in  a  campaign  which  re- 
quired so  great  labor,  and  that  the  Democrats  never 
worked  so  hard ;  but  he  predicted  a  Eepublican  victory  by 
an  ' '  unprecedentedly  large  majority '  *.563  Senator  Grimes 
was  not  seeking  reelection,  but  he  was  nevertheless  inter- 
ested in  the  election  of  the  members  of  the  eleventh  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  viewed  with  complacent  satisfaction 
the  fact  that  "no  Senator  or  Eepresentative  will  be  elect- 
ed by  the  Republicans  who  is  not  pledged  to  my  elec- 
tion".564 

At  the  State  Fair  grounds  in  Des  Moines  a  great  "Un- 

seo  Burlington  Hawlceye,  July  4,  1863. 

561  Vubuque  Herald,  July  4,  1863. 

562  The  Kepublican  State  Central  Committee,  by  districts :    G.  N.  Edwards, 
H.  W.  Yokner,  C.  E.  Milford,  H.  Ford,  Thomas  F.  Withrow,  John  E.  Need- 
ham,  Jacob  Butler,  F.  Humphrey,  C.  A.  Wellman,  John  A.  Elliott,  J.  D. 
Hunter. 

563  Letters    written    to    Mrs.    Grimes    from    Grinnell,    Independence    and 
Dubuque.— Salter's  Life  of  James  W.  Grimes,  pp.  238,  239. 

564  Letter  to  Mrs.  Grimes  written  from  West  Union  on  September  28th. — 
Salter's  Life  of  James  W.  Grimes,  p.  238.     Grimes  was  reflected  to  the 
United  States  Senate  on  January  16th,  1864,  receiving  on  joint  ballot  123 
votes  out  of  134.     Three  Democrats  voted  for  him. 


196  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

ion  Mass  Meeting  "565  was  held  on  September  12th,  where 
Senator  Grimes,  Colonel  Stone  and  Mr.  Darwin  spoke  to 
five  thousand  people,  presided  over  by  General  Curtis. 
The  evening  session,  "down  town",  in  front  of  the  Sav- 
ery  House,  was  addressed  by  Senator  Harlan,  General 
Curtis  and  Mr.  Henry  C.  Eippey,  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent though  belated  converts  to  Eepublicanism.  Mr. 
Eippey  remained  with  the  Democracy  until  after  their 
last  State  Convention,  when,  dissatisfied  with  platform 
and  ticket,  he  finally  gave  public  expression  to  his  dis- 
pleasure566 and  allowed  the  leaven  of  desertion  to  work. 
But  the  nomination  of  Tuttle  coming  soon  after,  caused 
him  to  hesitate;  and  then  seeking  light  on  the  "duty  of  a 
loyal  Democrat ' '  in  the  pending  election  for  Governor,  he 
addressed  a  letter,  September  2nd,  to  Mr.  C.  C.  Cole.  Mr. 
Cole's  answer  three  days  later  was  regarded  as  so  able 
and  convincing  a  diagnosis  of  the  case,  that  it  was  pub- 
lished as  a  campaign  document.567  Cole  assured  his 
friend  that  there  was  no  party  question  involved;  that 
Colonel  Stone  was  nominated  by  a  "  so-called  Union  Con- 
vention", and  General  Tuttle  by  a  "Democratic  Conven- 
tion so-called";  that  both  had  been  efficient  officers, 
though  now  standing  on  diametrically  opposed  platforms, 
the  former  supporting  the  Administration  and  the  latter 
opposing  the  war.  He  advised  Mr.  Eippey  to  vote  for 
Stone.  Then  he  significantly  added:  "I  find  that  neither 
party  has  avowed  a  single  former  political  or  partisan 
issue,  but  the  whole  contest  is  one  of  support  or  opposi- 
tion to  the  Administration  in  its  prosecution  of  the  war". 
While  he  correctly  stated  the  great  issue,  his  explanation 
of  the  party  platforms  must  be  taken  merely  as  balm  to 

665  Iowa  State  Register,  July  22,  1863. 

see  Iowa  State  Register,  September  14,  1863. 

567  Iowa  State  Register,  September     9,  1863. 


CIVIL   WAE  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PEEIOD  197 

ease  the  conscience  of  a  deserter.  But  it  evidently  satis- 
fied Mr.  Rippey,  an  Administration  Democrat,  for  he  at 
once  entered  the  Republican  lists,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
champion  the  cause  of  the  ' l  Union ' '. 

Iowa  Republicans  were  very  solicitous  about  the  soldier 
vote.  Mr.  Grinnell,  Representative  in  Congress,  wrote  to 
his  constituents  in  the  army,  a  letter  in  which  he  named  a 
list  of  former  Democrats,  both  officers  in  the  field  and 
leading  civilians,  who  were  all  for  Stone.  Letters  from 
former  Democrats  endorsing  Colonel  Stone  were  occa- 
sionally published.  Although  Stone  himself  was  very 
popular,  yet  anything  coming  from  the  army  or  from 
Democrats,  was  of  importance.  General  John  A.  Mc- 
Clernand,  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  Colonel  Stone's  old 
corps  commander,  wrote  him  a  letter  of  endorsement, 
which  of  course  was  published.568  This  sort  of  campaign- 
ing the  Democrats  would  match  by  advertising  Fernando 
Wood  of  New  York,  who  would  stump  the  State  in  behalf 
of  General  Tuttle.  But  time  passed  and  no  Fernando 
Wood  appeared  in  Iowa. 

The  Democrats,  divided  and  out  of  harmony  among 
themselves,  pleaded  for  peace  in  the  nation.  They  begged 
the  people  to  put  them  back  into  power,  promising  in  re- 
turn that  great  boon.  But  although  their  campaign  was 
spasmodic,  they  put  into  the  field  their  ablest  speakers, 
besides  the  nominees.  Augustus  C.  Dodge  addressed  sev- 
eral meetings,  but  he,  like  others,  found  it  difficult  to  ad- 
vocate peace  and  at  the  same  time  urge  the  claims  of  their 
soldier  ticket.  Therefore  at  Dubuque  on  September  24th, 
he  confined  himself  to  the  former  and  talked  peace,  while 
incidentally  electioneering  for  D.  A.  Mahoney,  who  was 
running  for  sheriff  of  that  county.569 

ses  Iowa  State  Register,  September  23,  1863. 
State  Register,  September  30,  1863. 


198  TEE  POLITICS   OF  IOWA 

But  while  the  party  professed  to  make  peace  the  issue, 
the  real  issue  with  them  was  General  Tuttle,  and  they, 
like  the  Eepublicans,  were  concerned  about  the  soldier 
vote.  With  the  soldiers,  it  was  hoped,  it  would  be  a  mat- 
ter of  choice  between  two  popular  army  officers.  The 
action  of  the  soldiers  in  the  main,  however,  showed  that 
it  was  not  so  much  a  matter  of  men  as  of  issues,  and  Gen- 
eral Tuttle 's  military  popularity  did  not  profit  him,  as  is 
seen  by  letters  from  the  army  and  the  action  of  certain 
regiments,  as  well  as  the  soldier  vote.  A  typical  letter 
appeared  during  the  canvass  from  John  A.  T.  Hull,  then 
a  private,  which  illustrates  the  attitude  of  the  soldiers 
regardless  of  party  affiliation.  The  significant  portion  of 
the  letter570  reads : 

"Well,  the  Democratic  party  of  Iowa  is  in  a  pretty  muss,  isn't 
it?  If  Tuttle  has  one  tenth  the  sense  he  has  always  been  sup- 
posed to  possess,  he  will  not  only  refuse  the  nomination  tendered 
him,  but  will  renounce  his  allegiance  to  the  party.  It  is  the 
only  thing  which  will  restore  to  him  the  confidence  of  his  soldier 
friends.  He  was  at  one  time  very  popular  with  the  army,  but 
he  is  fast  losing  the  respect  of  Iowa  soldiers.  Colonel  Stone 
will  receive  an  almost  unanimous  vote.  I  know  of  but  one  Demo- 
crat in  this  Regiment  who  will  not  support  him.  I  will  not  men- 
tion his  name,  but  will  say  he  is  an  officer,  and  should  know  bet- 
ter than  to  say  one  thing  and  do  another. 

The  Democratic  members  of  Tuttle 's  old  regiment,  the 
Iowa  Second,  took  formal  action  on  his  nomination,  unan- 
imously adopting  a  series  of  resolutions,  charging  him 
with  inconsistency  in  both  his  career  and  his  letter  ac- 
cepting the  nomination  on  an  anti-war  platform.571 
The  Iowa  Seventh  also  framed  resolutions  on  Tuttle 's 
nomination,  one  of  them  reading : 

570  The  letter  in  full  appears  in  the  Iowa  State  Eegister,  September  16, 
1863. 

571  The  resolutions  in  full  are  found  in  the  Iowa  State  Eegister,  Septem- 
ber 9,  1863. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  199 

Resolved,  That  we  will  support  no  man  for  any  office  (what- 
ever might  have  been  his  standing  among  patriots)  who  will 
identify  himself  with  a  party  whose  avowed  principles  are  so 
hostile  to  the  best  interests  of  our  Government.572 

They  then  pledged  their  individual  support  to  Stone. 
The  campaigning  utility  of  these  letters  and  resolves  must 
be  apparent.  But  the  vote  itself  will  tell  the  story. 

Another  phase  of  the  campaign  and  election  significant 
of  Republicanism,  was  the  increased  use  of  the  term 
" Union"  as  applied  to  the  Republican  party.  This  is 
noticeable  especially  in  the  later  county  nominating  con- 
ventions, and  in  reports  of  the  election  returns.  On 
August  15th  the  Jefferson  County  Republican  convention 
at  Fairfield  declared: 

That  we  solicit  the  cooperation  of  all  loyal  men,  without  dis- 
tinction of  party,  to  unite  with  us  in  the  election  of  the  ticket 
presented  by  this  convention.573 

In  none  of  the  many  county  conventions,  so  far  as  ob- 
served, do  we  find  that  the  Republicans  abandoned  their 
party  organization,  or  fused  in  such  a  way  as  to  obscure 
it.  In  several  the  party  name  was  not  mentioned,  either 
in  the  call  or  in  the  resolutions  adopted ;  but  neither  was 
there  any  other  name  used.  The  call  for  the  Des  Moines 
County  Convention  at  Burlington,  for  example,  simply 
called  together  those  electors  "in  favor  of  the  war  for  the 
Union  and  the  sustaining  of  the  Government  in  its  vigor- 
ous prosecution".  Even  here  the  basis  of  the  delegate 
representation  from  the  townships  was  the  vote  cast  for 
Lincoln,  three  years  prior.574 

Again,  Mr.  Palmer  in  speaking  of  General  Tuttle's  can- 
didacy, charged  him  with  inconsistency  in  accepting  a 
place  on  a  ticket  against  the  "only  organized  Union  party 

572  Iowa  State  Register,  September  9,  1863. 

573  Burlington  Eawkeye,  August  18,  1863. 

574  Burlington  Hawkeye,  August  1,  1863. 


200  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

in  the  State  ",575  The  same  idea  is  brought  out  concern- 
ing the  action  taken  by  the  Seventeenth  Iowa  Regiment 
in  the  report,  "That  Regiment  is  unanimously  for  the 
Union  State  ticket  headed  by  Colonel  Stone  ",576  The 
Iowa  conception  of  the  term  is  further  shown  in  the  re- 
ports of  the  election  from  the  various  local  units.  In  a 
few  instances  these  are  reported  as  Republican  victories, 
but  by  far  the  larger  number  are  reported  in  varying 
"  Union  "  terms,  such  as,  for  example,577  "Great  Union 
Victory",  "Union  majority",  "All  the  Union  candi- 
dates", "Union  ticket",  "Republican  Union  ticket", 
"Union  gain",  etc.  These  were  all  reports  of  the  same 
party  returns.  There  was  no  fusion  "Union"  party  in 
Iowa  in  1863. 

The  election  resulted  in  the  largest  Republican  triumph 
in  the  State.  Not  only  was  the  State  ticket  elected,  but 
the  legislature  chosen  was  almost  unanimously  Repub- 
lican. Of  the  142,314  votes  cast  for  Governor,  Colonel 
Stone  received  86,107,  to  General  Turtle's  56,132,  with  75 
scattering.578  Eastman's  majority  over  Buncombe  was 
even  greater.  Of  the  forty-six  State  senators,  forty-two 
were  listed  as  "Unionists"  and  only  four  as  Democrats. 
In  the  House  the  Republicans  did  even  better,  electing 
eighty-seven  to  the  Democrats  '  five  Representatives.  The 
famous  Dubuque  district,  the  Forty-first,  however,  true 
to  its  traditions,  chose  a  solid  Democratic  delegation  of 
four. 

The  result  of  the  soldier  vote  was  similar  to  that  of 
1862.  The  same  commissioners,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  vacancies,  were  sent  to  take  the  vote  in  the  army. 


state  Register,  August  12,  1863. 
576/owa  State  Register,  October  7,  1863. 
577  Iowa  State  Register,  October  21,  and  November  4,  1863. 
STS  Senate  Journal,  1864,  p.  38. 


CIVIL    WAE   AND  EECONSTEUCTION  PERIOD  201 

There  were  forty  regiments  of  infantry,  eight  of  cavalry, 
and  three  batteries  participating  in  this  election,  and  the 
vote  for  the  head  of  the  ticket  was:  for  Colonel  Stone 
16,791;  for  General  Tattle  2,904.  Eastman's  vote  over 
that  of  Buncombe  was  again  greater  — 17,343  to  2,133. 
The  soldier  vote  made  no  difference  in  the  final  result  of 
the  election.  The  regimental  votes  in  the  main  were  in 
accord  with  the  prophecies  made  during  the  campaign, 
based  upon  the  letters  written  by  soldiers  and  resolutions 
passed  by  some  of  the  regiments.  In  only  two,  the  Forti- 
eth Infantry  and  a  detachment  of  the  Sixth  Cavalry,  did 
General  Tuttle  obtain  a  majority.579  In  four  regiments 
the  vote  was  about  two  to  one,580  while  in  most  of  them  it 
was  much  more  one-sided,  even  overwhelming  for  the 
Eepublicans.581  Two,  the  Seventh  Cavalry  and  the 
Fourth  Battery,  gave  a  unanimous  vote  for  Stone.  Gen- 
eral Williamson's  Brigade  was  for  Stone  by  a  vote  of 
1,378  to  318.  Williamson  lamented  that,  in  comparison 
with  the  old  regiments,  the  Sixth  and  Ninth,  "It  is  not 
as  good  as  it  should  be",  for  their  vote  was  "most  unan- 
imous for  the  Union  ticket ",582 

The  Republicans  were  satisfied  now  with  their  policy 
of  maintaining  an  independent  partisan  organization. 
They  had  properly  gauged  their  political  assets  and  suc- 
cessfully maintained  their  supremacy.  On  the  other  hand 
the  Democrats  failed  again  in  their  double  role.  The 

570  Fortieth  Infantry:  Stone,  164;  Tuttle,  177.  Sixth  Cavalry:  Stone, 
56;  Tuttle,  58. 

sso  Thirtieth  Infantry:  Stone,  152;  Tuttle,  90.  Thirty-first  Infantry: 
Stone,  167;  Tuttle,  60.  Thirty-fourth  Infantry:  Stone,  175;  Tuttle,  67. 
Thirty-fifth  Infantry:  Stone,  211;  Tuttle,  124. 

ssi  Fourth  Infantry:  Stone,  307;  Tuttle,  18.  Sixth  Infantry:  Stone, 
175;  Tuttle,  9.  Seventh  Infantry:  Stone,  297;  Tuttle,  1.  Ninth  Infantry: 
Stone,  327;  Tuttle,  6.  Eighteenth  Infantry:  Stone,  267;  Tuttle,  6.  Twen- 
ty-fourth Infantry:  Stone,  271;  Tuttle,  10. 

582  Iowa  State  Register,  October  28,  1863. 


202  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

question  now  was,  in  view  of  the  near-at-hand  Presi- 
dential campaign,  would  the  Democrats  be  able  to  find  an 
issue  and  get  together!  Would  the  Eepublicans  persist 
in  their  partisan  policy?  If  so,  could  they  maintain  their 
solidarity? 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 

DOCUMENTS  : 

Adjutant  General's  Reports 

Archives  of  Iowa 

Congressional  Globe,  36th  Congress  and  37th  Congress 

Fairall  's  Manual  of  Iowa  Politics 

First  Three  Republican  National  Conventions  —  Proceedings 

House  Journal,  Eighth  General  Assembly,  1860 ;  Extra  Ses- 
sion, 1861 ;  Ninth  General  Assembly,  1862 ;  Extra  Ses- 
sion, 1862 ;  Tenth  General  Assembly,  1864 

Iowa  Historical  and  Comparative  Census,  1836-1880 

Iowa  Legislative  Documents 

Iowa  Official  Register,  1908-1910 

Laws  of  Iowa,  1862 ;  1864 ;  Extra  Session,  1861 ;  Extra  Ses- 
sion, 1862 

Richardson's  Messages  and  State  Papers  of  the  Presidents, 
Vol. 

Senate  Journal,  Eighth  General  Assembly,  1860 ;  Extra  Ses- 
sion, 1861 ;  Ninth  General  Assembly,  1862 ;  Extra  Ses- 
sion, 1862 ;  Tenth  General  Assembly,  1864 

Shambaugh's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors 
of  Iowa,  Vol.  II 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large 
NEWSPAPERS  AND  PERIODICALS  : 

Burlington  Hawkeye 

Charles  City  Intelligencer 

Council  Bluffs  Bugle 

Davenport  Democrat 

Davenport  Gazette 

Dubuque  Herald 

Dubuque  Times 

Fort  Dodge  Republican 

Hamilton  Freeman 

Iowa  Democratic  Enquirer 

Iowa  State  Journal 

Iowa  State  Press 


204  THE  POLITICS  OF  IOWA 

Iowa  State  Register 

Iowa  State  Reporter 

Keokuk  Gate  City 

Lyons  City  Advocate 

Muscatine  Daily  Courier 

Muscatine  Daily  Journal 

Ottumwa  Courier 

New  York  Tribune 

The  American  Historical  Review,  October,  1910  —  Professor 
Wm.  A.  Dunning 's  article  on  The  Second, Birth  of  the 
Republican  Party,  pp.  56-63. 

Annals  of  Iowa,  Third  Series,  from  1893 

The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  from  1903 
STANDARD  WORKS  : 

Brigham  's  James  Harlan  in  the  Iowa  Biographical  Series 

Brindley  's  History  of  Taxation  in  Iowa  in  the  Iowa  Econom- 
ic History  Series 

Chadwick's  Causes  of  the  Civil  War,  Vol.  19  of  the  Amer- 
ican Nation 

Dunning 's  Essays  on  the  Civil  War  and  Reconstruction 

Dunning 's  Reconstruction  Political  and  Economic,  Vol.  22 
of  the  American  Nation 

Gregory's  Samuel  Freeman  Miller  in  the  Iowa  Biographical 
Series 

Nicolay  and  Hay's  Abraham  Lincoln,  A  History,  Vol.  II 
and  III 

Pelzer's  Augustus  Caesar  Dodge  in  the  Iowa  Biographical 
Series 

Rhodes'  History  of  the  United  States  from  the  Compromise 
of  1850,  Vol.  II  and  III 

Salter  's  Life  of  James  W.  Grimes 

Shambaugh's  History  of  the  Constitutions  of  Iowa 


VITA 

The  author,  a  native  of  Bloomington,  Illinois,  was  graduated 
from  Eureka  College  in  1896  with  the  degree  B.  S.  The  next 
year  he  entered  the  faculty  of  the  institution,  at  the  same  time 
pursuing  a  graduate  course  in  History  and  Sociology,  taking  the 
degree  of  A.  M.  in  1900.  From  1900  to  1904  he  was  instructor 
in  History  and  Education.  In  1900  he  began  graduate  work  in 
the  University  of  Chicago,  and  at  intervals  prosecuted  his  studies 
in  History  and  Political  Science.  Since  1904  he  has  occupied 
the  chair  of  History  in  Drake  University.  Receiving  a  leave  of 
absence  for  1910-1911,  he  spent  the  year  at  Columbia  University, 
doing  special  work  in  the  field  of  Political  Science.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Curators  of  The  State  Historical  Society 
of  Iowa  during  the  period  from  1906  to  1910.  He  has  contrib- 
uted to  papers  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  Historical  Association, 
and  has  published  several  minor  articles  and  an  outline  of  Civil 
Government,  besides  contributing  papers  and  addresses  to  clubs 
and  associations. 


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